The Queen's Admiral
by secretcastle
Summary: The crown prince of Arendelle pieces together the story of one man's long journey to redemption. A darker continuation of Frozen set 16 years after Elsa's coronation.
1. Chapter One: The Wall

**Chapter One: The Wall**

"The way to solve for the circumference of the field is to first obtain its diameter…"

My mind tried to listen as the master droned on and on the geometry lesson. After all, princes should know these things and it was only proper that I should be paying attention. But my mind was somewhere else. It was wandering across the fjord and into the great ocean to where I knew my aunt was desperately waging a battle to defend her realm, her people, and our freedom. How I wish I could be there by her side. Anything was better than to sit and wait in the castle not knowing whether victory or defeat was at hand. But there wasn't much choice when you're only twelve.

"And the answer is… your highness?"

I shook my head and realized the master was expecting an answer. I immediately looked at him with a contrite expression. "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't… I wasn't thinking…"

I was expecting an immediate reprimand. He was one of my more stern professors. So I was quite surprised that he gave me a kind nod instead. "I understand Prince Fredrik. I suppose we can skip geometry for the moment. I think we all need a break." He started packing up the books and I realized I was being let off early. I gathered my own things.

I saw his hands shaking, and noticed the bags under his eyes and the worried frown on his face. It was a familiar expression. Everyone in the kingdom wore it lately.

Impulsively, I put a hand on his—the first time I've done so. It felt like the right thing to do.

"We'll be okay," I said. "The Queen will defend us. I know she's alright, just look outside." I pointed to the clear afternoon summer skies without a hint of a cloud. The sun was blazing in its usual heat and my hint was clear—there was no trace of snow.

"You really think she's fine?" he asked. His worried expression remained.

"If she was calling on her powers we wouldn't have such fine weather. And I would know." I didn't know what made me say that. It was a complete lie, of course. I had no clue whether Arendelle would be affected by a change of weather this far if my aunt was indeed using her powers an ocean away. I also had no way of knowing whether or not she was alive or dead, much less using her powers at all even with the common connection we have.

Still, my little white lie had a way of decreasing the worried lines on my professor's face and I considered it worthwhile.

"I'm glad your highness." He squeezed my shoulder almost affectionately.

I thanked him and left the study. I wish someone could reassure me as well as I reassured him. I walked over to the garden and saw my mother sitting by the flowers listlessly watching over my younger siblings. My two sisters were playing tea time. They alone seemed immune to the melancholy that had plagued the kingdom for weeks since the war started. As I watched them in their innocent pouring of tea in little cups I was envious that they were too young to understand what was going on in the kingdom to care. My mother pretended to play along while every so often gently caressing her round belly heavy with my soon to be brother or sister. But when five-year-old Andrea waddled over and offered her unborn sibling a cup, my mother's eyes lit up and a faint smile graced her lips.

I walked on, certain that my sisters can cheer her better than I could. I decided to go outside for a bit of fresh air. I passed the quiet halls of the castle. I haven't heard anybody whistling a tune for so long when singing from the servants as they did their work was a normal thing to hear while passing the corridors.

Outside the gates the same dreariness had affected everyone in town. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to head into the ports. Surely, there must be someone that must have heard news by now even if it was only fishermen that can assure me the gigantic wall of ice that stood in the middle of the ocean five miles from Arendelle's shoreline is still standing. That wall of ice is the only thing preventing us from sure defeat.

Our country's crisis began as a simple matter of one unnamed captain discovering the smuggling of Arendelle goods without going through the proper customs boards. Investigations on this led to the discovery of illegal trading by Weselton—a state that Aunt Elsa cut relations with almost two decades earlier. When the queen imposed tighter security measures that killed off the blackmarket, privateers began to appear more and more frequently and targeted Arendelle's trading ships. It wasn't hard to trace and prove that these privateers were sanctioned partners of Weselton in an effort to economically sabotage Arendelle and force it back to open trade.

That aggression escalated into a full war five months ago when Weselton openly attacked a royal navy ship that led to the death of Admiral Rochport, the head of Arendelle's military. Queen Elsa was forced to launch a fleet herself to defend her country. She met the enemy at sea in an effort to lead them away from Arendelle. There had been reports of fierce sea battles that went on for months and two ships were destroyed. But for most part it was a game of cat and mouse for the two navies, with neither one gaining much ground. The crucial point occurred when twenty large privateering ships—allies of Weselton—managed to cut through our naval blockade and made a direct attack on our homeland. Queen Elsa stopped them by creating a wall of solid ice 50 feet high and 20 feet thick in the narrow part of the fjord that was the only passage from the open sea to Arendelle. It effectively protected our nation from a sea attack as the snowy mountains that naturally surrounded the rest of the country already provided a formidable fortress. However, it also cut off our navy from any contact or hope of reinforcements and supplies.

For the last six weeks since the wall was created, we had no news of the Queen or the Arendelle fleet. The home seaguard reports that the privateers were still lingering outside the wall. We were a nation under siege.

We were fortunate that this incident happened in the summer. We had the advantage of resources to supply the populace compared to the ships outside. But how long will it take for them to figure out a way to break that ice and attack. Even if wall did hold, how long could our supplies last us through winter when all trade from our neighbours has ceased?

And what about the Arendelle fleet? Can they survive without reinforcements when they were caught between Weselton's navy and the privateer ships?

My mother, the princess regent, has been trying to keep everything together. She has been busy in the efforts to stock up on supplies from this last harvest. When she's home she tries so hard to carry on things normally. She insists I attend to my lessons and encourages the staff to go about on their daily business. But everyday I can see the weariness in her eyes that were often lidded with tears.

Father leads the home guard of civilian volunteers patrolling the coasts and mountains in case any of the privateers decided to get in through other means. With most of our military beyond the wall, the handful of ice harvesters, farmers and fishermen were our last line of defense if the wall comes down.

And of course there was me—the crown prince that inherited my aunt's ice powers. I knew that if the wall comes down, people expected me to repair it. But I don't have the skill that she has, not in making solid objects. The most I can do is create tiny snow storms and freeze little bodies of water. Even then I don't have complete control of those yet.

I reached the castle square that was filled as usual with people. I can sense everyone felt the same as I did. We were all waiting. Waiting for our fates.

The sound of clashing bells ripped the air. My heart quickened at the noise. I felt the ground beneath my feet turn to ice and I fought to control it before it spread.

_Breathe, _I told myself, remembering the exercises Aunt Elsa used to teach me. But the bells were still ringing and it was getting harder to concentrate on controlling my powers.

People began nervously murmuring:

"Is it an attack?"

"What is going on?"

"Are they coming?"

I saw a middle-aged man push through the crowds shouting. "The prince! The prince! Someone get the prince quickly!" He stopped when he saw me and he fell sobbing on his knees in front of me. "Your majesty, you must come quick! The wall is down!"

I heard the words and forgot all attempts to control my powers. Ice formed under my shoes and began spreading over the square. A woman dropped a jug of milk a few feet from me and the liquid froze as it came in contact with growing layer of ice beneath her feet. One man slipped and fell next to her just as a storm erupted in the heavens above my head.

Then pandemonium broke loose.


	2. Chapter Two: A Hero

**Chapter Two: A Hero**

"Fredrik! Fredrik!"

Someone was calling my name from seemingly far away. I was on my knees shaking, with my arms covering my head. I was too terrified to even look up and find out what was happening.

I felt something hit me in the left cheek, hard. Then came another one on my right cheek.

"Snap out of it, Fredrik!"

I looked up and came face to face with the end tip of a carrot. I saw a twig aiming for my cheek again and I instinctively veered.

"Olaf," I gasped at the snowman that had been with my family since long before I was born.

"You have to stop this storm now," the snowman insisted. "You're scaring people."

I realized he was right. People were already running and shouting in the streets and my loss of control was making things worse.

"It's an attack!"

"Is it the Queen? Has she released her army of ice men?"

"Are they coming? Are they coming?"

"We're doomed!"

I forced myself to breathe deeply just as Aunt Elsa taught me. Slowly the ice receded and I turned to the people before me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That was my fault!" I cried. People turned to look and recognized me at once.

"Prince Fredrik? Is the Queen alright? Can you feel her?"

"Is she still alive?"

It was a natural thing for people to think that just because I inherited my aunt's ice powers we also have some sort of telepathy between us. The truth was I was in the dark just as everybody. And right now I was just as panicked. But I forced myself to calm down. "A ruler must always reassure his people," Aunt Elsa used to say. "The kingdom is only as strong as its ruler." I saw from the people's faces around they were expecting salvation from me. I knew that I must at least try.

"I'll do what I can," I told them while accepting Olaf's twig-hand to help myself up.

People made way for me and I shut my eyes as I walked passed them so as not to see their pleading eyes. But I couldn't stop hearing their words.

"Save us your highness."

"Raise the wall again."

"You're our only hope."

_Deep breaths, deep breaths, you can do this. You have to._

I opened my eyes and was about to call for a small boat when I realized something about the way the bells were ringing. The cadence of each clash had a two second interval between each and I realized it didn't mean attack but a sign of good tidings.

But how can that be? The wall was gone.

A small fishing vessel was just docking into the port and there men were jumping off the boat shouting. "It's not an attack! It's not attack! A ship has returned. An Arendelle ship!"

And then I saw it. In the horizon the tip of a mass and a sail unfurled unveiled itself in the sun. Green. Purple. The floral crest of Arendelle. I bolted towards the port, with Olaf scurrying at my heels.

The port was overcrowded by the time I reached it so I had to push through the masses. I saw the entire vessel reveal itself across the fjord. It wasn't the flagship where my aunt should be but a smaller vessel—one of the trading ships that volunteered to join the military campaign. Could it be that this is what was left of our fleet?

Then a burst of icy snow tore the cloudlessly blue sky just behind the ship and rained down into the fjord. It sent everyone including myself cheering.

"It's the Queen! She's alive!" someone shouted.

Slowly they appeared on the horizon one, two, three… I had to stop to count… fifteen ships! All flying Arendelle banners! The entire fleet had returned minus the two that were reported destroyed two months ago. The show of ice continued to rain down on all ships like white fireworks and I felt the familiar cold breeze sweeping into the port. It was Queen Elsa's sweet kiss announcing her return and her victory.

People everywhere were jumping and dancing with joy. I grabbed Olaf and gave him such a big hug I severed him in three places and mashed up bits of him with my arms.

"Olaf I'm sorry," I said as I picked up his rolling body. I then waved my hand to reinforce his personal flurry. He reassembled and jumped about and ran to hug other people, unmindful of being crushed. I wanted to follow him but I was stopped by several people I didn't even know who hugged me like I was their own son or brother. I didn't mind though. Everywhere around me citizens were hugging strangers like they were the best of friends. There were mothers crying, old men on their knees praying in gratitude, young children running up the docks shouting for their fathers.

I saw some fishermen hurriedly put out their boats and rowed fast towards the first little ship that was approaching. I knew they couldn't wait to hear news. One quick-moving fisherman reached the tiny ship and shouted out to the sailors then turned back to the shore quickly, eager to share what he heard.

I wanted to rush to the shore closest to where the fisherman was to beach but I felt a hand stop me. I looked up and saw my mother, flushed, a little out of breath and in obvious tears.

"Elsa's come home," she sobbed. "I thought I would never see her again."

I wanted to hug her but I was distracted by the crowd in front who were apparently repeating what the fisherman had just learned from the sailors.

"It's over! The war's over!" several people were shouting at once. It became quite confused after that as people were shouting back questions and relaying messages at the same time that it all became a jumble.

"Weasletown signed a peace treaty!"

"Is everybody alive?"

"I bet the queen frightened them with her ice powers."

"It was the Admiral!"

"No, I think she threatened to freeze them!"

"How many were lost?"

"They negotiated for peace!"

"Few casualties!"

"Is Lt. Aksel with them? Did he survive?"

"It was the Admiral, he out-maneuvered them."

"How about my son? Is he alive?"

"The queen promoted him!"

"Who?"

"They're alive, they're all alive, few injuries!"

It went on and on but eventually the news began to clear.

"It was the Admiral. He's the hero that saved us!"

"A hero! A hero! The Admiral!"

The Admiral? I stopped to wonder. We haven't heard of anyone taking Admiral Rochport's position since he perished at the beginning of the war. But then Queen Elsa could have promoted any of her captains.

But which one? Who was this hero?

People were asking the same thing but apparently the fisherman who obtained that first bit of news failed to learn more information. The next half hour was the longest of my life as I waited impatiently for the actual ships to arrive. Finally, I sighted Aunt Elsa's flagship. Even at a distance I could see her standing on the top deck, her familiar blue gown shimmering in the sun. She was waving to the people on the shore while weaving her magical ice crystals.

I ran forward into the beach. When I reached the shoreline, I lifted my hands up to the sky to send my own shimmering rain of snowflakes to answer her. My show was met with cheers from the sailors on the ships.

Encouraged by their response, I sent a burst of powerful light—something I've been practicing lately in the north mountain. Aunt Elsa answered it with one of her own and for the next several minutes we put on quite a little exhibition for the ecstatic crowd.

Finally the flag ship was near enough that I could hear the shouts of the sailors. Aunt Elsa silenced everyone with one final display of swirling ice and then she began to speak:

"People of Arendelle! Victory is ours. We are at peace again and with little lives lost. Our gratitude goes to the man that orchestrated it, Admiral Westergard."

That was when I noticed the man that stood next to her in a white uniform of a high ranking naval officer. He was about in his late 30s, very handsome, with ginger hair and side burns peeking beneath his crisp white hat. He took it off and he smiled and waved to the crowd with the confidence of a royal that matched my aunt.

I gave a slight gasp as I remembered him. It was years ago but I still recalled the fear in his green eyes when I woke from the most terrifying experience I have ever felt.

I was five years old when it happened. I remembered because it was the day I discovered my ice powers...

"_Stop fidgeting Fredrik," Mother warned as she placed yet another scarf around my neck. I wiggled in irritation at the uncomfortable wrappings. It was way too hot and I wanted to get out of it and just be able to run in my boots. I attempted to tug away the scarf but Mother slapped my hand and replaced it._

"_But I'm not cold!" I protested._

"_You will be," Mother chided. _

"_Listen to your mother, Fredrik." It was Father who spoke. "The north mountain air is freezing. The farther up we go, it gets even colder. Best to keep as warm as possible."_

_I stared at him defiantly and attempted to yank the woolly cap off my head._

"_Uh, uh, uh!" Mother warned. "You take anything off and I'll strap you to Sven who'll take you back to the castle." This time her tone meant business and I huffed in protest._

"_Fine," I mumbled under my breath. Why was it adults never let me have any fun? _

_Father had finally taken me and Mother to the north mountain—a trip I've been waiting for so long. I couldn't wait to see the great frozen lake for ice fishing and Aunt Elsa's ice palace. She promised to meet us there with Olaf and create something nice and big for me up the mountain. Olaf said he was going to introduce me to his younger brother, Marshmallow. Based on his name, I was looking forward to seeing a shorter and cuddlier version of Olaf. ( I couldn't figure out why Mother and Father sniggered when I mentioned this)._

_We had travelled half a day by sleigh and paused at a tiny cottage that Father said was a sort of rest stop for ice harvesters. It was just one large room with a couch, a fireplace, a tiny kitchen and an outhouse. There was nothing interesting and I wanted to move on especially when I saw that we were nearing the frozen lake. _

"_Can we go now?" I said._

"_Not yet," Mother said. "Brrr… it's cold even for near spring."_

"_I'll start a fire," Father said just as Mother sat on the couch and put her feet up. "Come sit down, Fredrik." _

"_I'm not tired. When can we go?" I repeated._

"_In a moment," Mother replied. "Hot chocolate first." Father had just started the fire and set a kettle to boil. I knew that this was going to take forever. Mother likes to enjoy her hot chocolate by the fire and takes her time with it._

"_But I wanna go now!" I pleaded. _

"_Fredrik," Mother said irritably. "Sven's tired. We're all tired. The lake isn't going anywhere. Now come sit. We'll go after we take a little nap."_

_I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to take a nap." Father joined mother in the couch and laid his head on her lap. I knew there was no way I could get them to move now. "I'll be outside," I declared. _

"_Don't go far, just stay with Sven," Mother warned._

"_Okay!" I replied crossly. _

_I found Sven asleep outside and I was bored. There was still a light coat of snow on the ground but it was no fun making snowballs if you had nobody to throw it to. I decided to look around and walked a little. I saw the sparkle of the frozen lake a distance away and it looked so inviting. Maybe I could take a quick peek before Mother and Father finished their nap._

_I walked on, careful not to wake Sven. I passed a short line of trees and felt my constricting clothes hindering me from walking too fast. I looked back and realized Mother and Father would probably not see me. I had time to take off the heavy clothes, run to the edge of the lake then go back without anyone knowing. I stripped off my excess outfits until I was left in just a plain shirt, trousers and boots. I don't even feel cold at all. And without the constricting baggage, I was free to run on._

_Finally, I reached it and I saw it was amazing. It was like a gigantic skating rink—like the one Aunt Elsa makes in the castle square except this one was so big I couldn't even see the end. I wished I had brought my skates. I could always ask Aunt Elsa to make me a pair and I'll tell her I wanted to skate here. But for now, I wanted to see if I could go further and find out just how far the lake went. _

_I stepped on the ice and walked on it. It was strange how it wasn't as even as Aunt Elsa's rinks. This one felt rough and there were parts that appeared to be wet._

_Crack!_

_My heart jumped at the sound. I had heard it once on melting ice. But this one sounded like it was coming from under my feet._

_Crack! The sound was louder. _

_Before I could move, the ground beneath my feet disappeared and I fell into the water. My heart was racing and I gasped but the water was enclosing around me and everything below was dark._

'_Kick your feet,' I remembered what Father said when he taught me to float in the fjord during summer and I did just that. I felt myself rise and I could see the light just above my head. But I couldn't breathe and I was so afraid of the dark below me. I kicked and kicked and raised my hands to the light but I felt only something solid and hard on top of me—ice. I tried to search for a way out of the dark that was closing in but all around me I keep encountering solid ice._

_And then I saw a shadow above me. I recognized the bottom of a pair of boots. I wanted to shout for help, and I tried to bang my fists but all around me was more ice. Finally, I couldn't kick anymore and everything went dark…_

_I woke up gasping and coughing. My insides were burning. _

"_T-hat's it, deep breaths. K-keep at it lad." I heard an unfamiliar shaky voice say._

_I cough-spitted water and tried to breathe in between. It seems I couldn't get enough air to relieve the burning inside me. I felt a hand rub my back, helping me to expel water out. When I finally wheezed out everything and began to breathe normally I found myself on the snow-covered bank of the lake staring into a strange man with red hair. His was extremely skinny. He was wearing threadbare clothes that were dripping wet and did little to hide the fact he was shivering. But his eyes—I noticed his green eyes were looking at me intently with deep worry._

"_W-we need to get you s-somewhere w-warm quickly." _

_He lifted me in his arms and I could feel he was trembling. He had only managed a few steps when I heard Mother shouting._

"_Fredrik! Fredrik!"_

_And then she was grabbing me roughly from the man's arms and holding me tight to her while shouting accusingly to him. "What have you done to my son?!"_

_The man looked confused and he replied: "Y-your son… I-I d-didn't know… H-he fell into the w-water. I g-got him out."_

_Father pushed past us and I've never seen him look so angry. He was shouting something I couldn't understand and the man was stuttering something back. _

_Mother was bundling me up in warm clothes and holding me so close that she couldn't seem to hear my weak protests that I wasn't feeling cold at all._

_Finally, I managed to wiggle out of her embrace and back on my feet. "I'm fine, I'm not cold. But that nice man is!" I said. "He needs a blanket."_

_I turned around and saw that Father had cornered the poor shaking man that helped me and I was suddenly afraid of what he would do to him. I saw Father raised a fist to strike him. _

"_Father no!" I shouted. I felt a strange energy erupted from my hands and Father was thrown back by spikes of ice that appeared between him and the kind man._

"_Kristoff!" Mother gasped. She looked from him to the man before settling on me. "Did you do that Fredrik?"_

_I was confused and moved back. As I did, the ground that I stepped on cracked and I saw crystals forming under my feet._

"_I'm t-telling you I f-found him t-trapped under w-water enclosed in a w-wall of ice," I heard the man say. _

_I didn't know what Father said after that as Mother grabbed me and carried me back to the cottage. I tried to ask her what was going to happen to that man but she kept shrugging it off. _

Aunt Elsa arrived a few hours after that incident and confirmed I inherited her ice powers. The days following the exciting discovery of my ability had made me forget about that man. As I grew older I began to understand what happened that day. When I fell into the water, I panicked and accidentally trapped myself by creating a wall of ice above me, sealing even the hole where I fell in. That man found me, broke the ice wall and jumped into the freezing waters to pull me out. Strange, that I never had a chance to thank him—my personal hero. But I suppose now he's everybody's hero.

I turned back to see if my mother had also seen and recognized him. I spied her quickly among the crowds but I noticed something strange.

While everybody was rejoicing, she alone had a frown on her face.


	3. Chapter Three: A Battle of Fire and Ice

**Chapter Three: A Battle of Fire and Ice**

Never in my life had I seen so many people laugh and cry at the same time. As soon as the ships came to shore and the gangplanks were down, there was a mad rush from the sailors to get off. There was a lot of crying coupled with fond embraces as families were reunited with their fathers, brothers and sons.

I pushed past the crowds towards my aunt with Mother just before me. I couldn't wait to hear from her all the news of how they won the war. But Aunt Elsa only had time to grasp Mother's arms for a moment before the Queen was led away quite bodily by her eager subjects. I saw that Admiral Westergard had been accosted in a similar fashion. Both were placed on waiting horses and fell side by side with rather half-embarrassed grins on their faces as an impromptu parade took place. Several high-ranking officers followed behind them as the crowds madly cheered on:

"Long live Queen Elsa! Long live her faithful people!"

"Hurray for Admiral Westergard! The hero of Arendelle!"

"Three cheers for all our brave soldiers!"

I ran along beside them for several minutes with Olaf bouncing on his heels just behind me. But as the crowds became thicker I realized there were simply too many people vying for my aunt's attention for me to even get a word in. I gave up trying and decided to look around for someone else to talk to. I didn't have to look far. I saw a familiar face hobbling away from the traffic of people.

"Captain Anbjorn!" I called out to an old man in his sixties with a lean but kind face. I stopped when I was near him and I realized why he was hobbling. He had a lost a leg and it was now replaced by wooden peg. He was using a cane to help him walk.

"Fredrik, good to see you my boy!" he greeted me in his usual cheerful manner. "I'm too old for all this excitement. I'll let the young ones carry on. Be a good lad and help me get to a seat away from all this."

I rushed to oblige him and found some crates in front of a little store where I assisted him to sit down. A young girl who was minding the store saw us and quickly offered a cup of mead that the Captain eagerly partook in with relish.

"Ahhh… it's good to be back," he said after taking a gulp. Nothing like Arendelle's mead." He tapped his cane on his wooden leg and showed it off like it was something he was proud off. "See my new souvenir, lad? Can't get a better trophy than this one eh? Just as I'm retiring too."

"What happened Captain?" I asked worriedly.

The loss of his leg must have been painful. But to my surprise his eyes were shining with delight. "It was glorious! I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my career. It was a great fight! That it was! I'll tell you all about it, if you don't mind indulging an old man?"

"Oh I want to hear all about it!" I said excitedly. I sat down next to him on an opposite crate. He stretched his remaining leg then began his tale…

_I was the captain of the Kjerstin, the second largest ship in the royal fleet, inferior only to the Queen's own flagship, the Alexandra. For more than three months we were assigned as part of the naval blockade that was protecting Arendelle. We had some victories every now and then which kept the spirits of the men alive, but three months were starting to take its toll on my crew and we knew the war couldn't last very long. We could tell Weasletown was getting desperate to take Arendelle. Their ships were getting bolder and bolder everyday and the skirmishes were becoming fiercer with canon fire being sent out like they were expendable as seawater._

_One morning I woke up to the alarm that three of our ships were on the retreat with five privateering ships behind them. I saw from my deck that the Anna was listing to the side and the Johanna looking worst for wear with a broken mast. The Katrina alone was providing cover. _

_My ship was the first to engage the approaching enemy, providing canon fire to aid our injured sister ships. I had them pummel the privateering ships until I blew a hole on the side of one and sent another one to retreat. Five of our other ships engaged the other three pirates until they were forced to move back. _

_But our victory was short-lived for when I saw that three new ships had just appeared and went directly for the Alexandra. They came in so fast that the Queen's men were soon fighting close range with muskets and crossbows._

_I ordered to maneuver to aid them but alas we were too far and I saw the Alexandra boarded. In horror I watched its commander Captain Kaj shot in the stomach and crumple to the deck. I scanned the ship looking for the Queen. Was she dead? Captured?_

_Then I saw a short sailor in a white shirt and trousers run up the top deck. Six pirates surrounded the sailor and pointed their weapons. But then the sailor moved in a circle sending a blast of white and in a blink of an eye all six pirates were either passed out on the deck or fell into the waters below. _

_I realized it was the Queen dressed as a common soldier! She moved fast, shooting ice blasts at attacking enemies and clearing a path towards the closest enemy ship. As she ran, her cap fell and her long platinum hair disentangled from its usual braid and flew wildly about her. She reached the front of her ship with her face registering a rage I've never seen before. Her arms flew forcibly outwards and I heard her scream like a warrior goddess on the rampage. Then all three attacking ships were pushed away and tossed aside like little toy boats. The one that boarded the Alexandra first flew within range of my cannons and I gave one word to my men:_

"_Fire!"_

_In seconds I reduced it to ashes and splinters._

_I met Queen Elsa's gaze and she gave me an acknowledging nod of thanks. But then I saw her eyes register fear. I turned around and saw a mass of ships approaching. There were too many to count but I could tell we were outnumbered._

_I knew it was the end but we would fight to the last. I began the speech to my men I've always prepared for this inevitable day._

"_It was an honor serving with you! I could not have been more proud! Long live the Queen!" _

_As I did, the heavens darkened and an ice storm appeared. It slowed the approaching ships but I could see that even Queen Elsa's ice powers couldn't stop them completely. She was just buying us time._

_The enemy ships maneuvered closer together. I realized that their density was making it difficult for the ice storm to push them away and they were again gaining speed towards us. I signaled the men to be ready to fight._

_Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one large enemy ship slid in the middle of the mass of ships. I noticed it because of one peculiar thing. There was someone on the deck holding what appeared to be a torch. I stared at it intently and was surprised when whoever it was began moving around setting fire to the ship. I grabbed my spyglass and held it up to see and was surprised by what I saw. _

_It was Captain Westergard, commander of the Christina, the smallest vessel in Arendelle's navy. The flames were starting to appear around him but the other enemy ships didn't appear to notice as they were busy fighting off the storm. I watched him climb up the top deck and he held the torch out above his head._

_The storm suddenly stopped and I could now clearly see him, his gaze was directed at the Alexandra. He gave a rather gallant salute then let the torch fall from his hands. I followed the object and saw that it fell somewhere below deck. Westergard jumped into the water and a second later the ship exploded into a ball of flame raining fire on every single vessel surrounding it. I realized then that the ship must have been loaded to the brim with tar and gunpowder. With the enemy ships packed so tightly together, the results were devastating._

_Cheers erupted on my ship as we watched the enemy fall into chaos. I couldn't believe it. With one move, Westergard just wiped out more than twenty ships! _

"_He's alive! He's alive! There he is!" one sailor broke through the euphoria and shouted from the lower deck. _

_I went down to look and saw a figure swimming towards us. My men cast a line and were soon hauling Westergard up. I ran down to meet him._

"_What in the world was that?" were the first words that came tumbling from my mouth directed at the drenched captain._

_He was still breathing heavily. "My crew and I hijacked a pirate vessel, loaded it with flammable materials then decided to use it against them," he said simply. "Don't worry my entire crew is safe back at the Christina. Lt. Aksel took over for me… because you know I might not…"_

_He didn't need to finish. I realized he volunteered for a suicide mission._

"_You're crazy," I shook my head at him._

_He just gave me devilish grin. "I love crazy."_

_I wanted to laugh but from my peripheral vision, I could see that around 20 more enemy ships coming and to my dismay, they came from the far west—too far for my ship or any of the other ones in the fleet with exemption of the ailing Johanna to engage. _

"_We've got company," I told him. _

_He looked up and saw what I did._

"_Do you have anything else up your sleeve?" I asked him._

_He shook his head and I saw fear flashed in his face. "Our intelligence told us only twenty-six ships. I didn't know there were more."_

_I signaled to turn back but I knew it would take us at least several minutes to get into range. The Johanna appeared to be out of fire power. Without cover, the ships slipped by the blockade and headed straight towards Arendelle._

"_No!" I heard Westergard cry desperately. Both of us felt utterly helpless. _

_The Alexandra was turning towards Arendelle but we both knew it would not be able to reach those ships in time to block its path. Once Weasletown reaches our homeland, it was all over. They could take hostages and force our surrender._

_There was a loud rumble, the waves shook and suddenly before our eyes a massive wall of ice began rising from the sea on the narrow part of the fjord, blocking the path of the attacking ships. _

"_She did it! She did it!" Westergard kept repeating over and over triumphantly. But then he stopped and said. "Uh oh!"_

_As the 20 privateer ships were blocked from proceeding to Arendelle, they began turning back towards us!_

"_More enemy ships coming from our rear!" a sailor shouted. I turned briefly to see that he was right. I estimated that it was over 50 ships—an entire armada loaded with enough ammunition to wipe us clean. They were still quite a distance away, I estimated about half an hour before they could get into range. It would give us time to flee, but not when we are about to engage 20 ships in our front in three minutes and we had barely any ammunition left._

"_Get me close to the Alexandra!" Westergard told me._

'_It's no use," I told him. "They just keep coming. We can't win this."_

"_I have an idea," he said. "But I need the Queen."_

_I nodded. I ordered the ship to move within hearing distance of the Alexandra._

"_Queen Elsa!" Westergard shouted._

_The Queen appeared on the deck. She looked tired and out of breath with her hair plastered all over her face. Clearly creating that wall and providing ice storms had exhausted her._

"_I need you to build another wall!"_

"_What?" she asked. _

"_Build another wall!" he repeated. "Seal of those pirates before they can get to us!"_

_She nodded. She closed her eyes and her hands made a gesture as if she was lifting a heavy weight. A second wall of ice began rising out of the water but this time it was forming a lot slower than the first. I could see from the Queen's face that the effort was straining her._

_The pirate ships seemed to realize what was going on and were picking up their pace in an effort to get out to the open sea before they were sealed off. I saw one ship was nearly in range and was aiming to fire at the Alexandra. I ordered my vessel to move to cover the flagship._

_The wall was almost up when the enemy ship fired. The ball flew to the air a split second before the Queen's wall sealed them. We were on its direct path. _

_The shock of the impact on the side of my ship shattered the main deck and I felt it give way under my feet. Wood splinters rained on me and I felt a searing pain in my left leg as it was caught underneath a fallen beam. All around me men were crying in agony as I felt the ship list to the side. I wanted to say something reassuring but the excruciating sensation in my leg was all I could think of until I stopped thinking altogether and let the darkness engulf me._

_**Author's note: **__I hope __you enjoyed this chapter full of action. __It will take some time before the story of Hans unfolds, I couldn't resist giving details of the events on those missing six weeks. _

_I was inspired to write the battle strategy for this chapter by the Siege of Alesia in 52 A.D. Alesia was a strategically located Gaelic town that Julius Caesar successfully conquered by building two walls around it. He built a first wall to keep the Gauls from getting out. The Roman legionnaires surrounded it then built a second wall to keep Gaelic reinforcements from outside from attacking the Roman soldiers. He essentially created his own fortress around a fortress. It was a brilliant strategy, one that I will be employing again much later in this story, albeit a little modified by Hans. _

_Hans' "crazy" move that wiped out 26 ships in one go, on the other hand, is of course is a classic kamikaze assault._


	4. Chapter Four: An Issue of Trust

**Chapter Four: ****An Issue of Trust**

I was spellbound by Captain Anbjorn's tale. How I wished I was there to see it all. Aunt Elsa sounded so amazing. The things she could do to her powers were beyond what I could imagine I was capable of doing. And Admiral Westergard—how bold and clever he was! I couldn't wait to get their side of the story, but for now I was content to just hear more of Captain Anbjorn's tale.

"So what happened afterwards?" I asked. "How did you escape with a fleet of 50 ships behind you?"

The captain was happy to oblige…

_The next few days were a haze to me. My left leg had to be amputated as the bone shattered when the beam fell on it. The fleet doctor kept me sedated to ease the pain. It took me three days before I became conscious enough to communicate properly and when I did I found myself in a cabin of the Alexandra with Westergard beside me._

"_The doctor said he can fix you a wooden leg. You'll still be able to walk again," he said._

"_I'll be fine," I told him. Truthfully, the loss of my leg wasn't what bothered me most. I've had my time. This is just God's way of telling me to slow down. What I was worried most about was my crew. "My ship? My men?"_

"_The Kjerstin was towed but still afloat. Sixteen of your men were injured but they'll make it. Three…" He shook his head and whispered to me their names._

_I said a silent prayer for their souls and those from other ships I knew we had lost. _

"_Where are we, Hans?" I asked him._

_He gave a deep sigh. "The north sea heading south east, we managed to escape."_

"_How?"_

"_Queen Elsa managed to build the second wall in time. It could have been worst for the Kjerstin if it wasn't for her. I wanted her to build a third wall to keep the Weselton armada away, but she didn't have the strength. She did manage to create a thick fog. It hid our ships well so we were able to flee."_

"_And Arendelle?"_

"_Safe for now. Queen Elsa's wall is so thick it seems to be impenetrable to canon fire. But Arendelle's under siege and we need to get back there soon before Weselton breaks down that wall. Unfortunately, we're in no position to fight."_

_I saw the bags under his eyes and I realized he must be exhausted._

"_How bad is it?" I asked._

"_All fifteen ships are still afloat at least. But only eight can even go up on a fight right now and even then they're down to their last rounds of ammunition. We've got a hundred fifty-two injured, fifteen dead, including Captain Kaj."_

_I heaved a sigh. Kaj was a good man and a good friend. He led the fleet well after Rochport died. I would sorely miss him._

"_Our food and water stocks can last us three weeks, but it's our medicine that's going to be a problem. There isn't enough morphine and disinfectant to sustain our wounded. Not to mention our surgeons haven't slept in days. Even the Queen is helping out." _

_The solution was obvious. We needed to find a place to go onshore to resupply and get our injured help. But with Arendelle cut off we had nowhere to go but other allied nations. The closest one that was sure to support us was Corona, but it was more than a week away and Weasletown will surely be on the patrol against us. "Where are we going then?" _

"_Tastris," Westergard replied as if he wasn't convinced. I didn't blame him. Although Tastris was near enough it wasn't the first choice I'd pick. This coastal kingdom that once had a blossoming fish trade with Arendelle suddenly cut off their fish exports 12 years ago. It wasn't just Arendelle they stopped exporting to. They banned fishing altogether, shut down their ports and even built a wall around their seaside castle to prevent access to the ocean. They do still import ice from Arendelle so it wasn't an altogether cut tie, but relations were rather cold for a long time. It wasn't likely the kingdom would welcome the bedraggled Arendelle navy with open arms._

"_Queen Elsa said King Eric of Tastris owes her a favor and she intends to collect by asking asylum for us," Westergard explained. _

_Favor? Hah! That was an understatement. I snorted with laughter and Westergard looked confused. "What?" he asked._

"_Oh King Eric owes her alright. This just might work."_

"_What does he owe her?"_

"_It's not something he owes her but something he needs to make up to her. He broke their engagement."_

"The Queen was engaged?!" the young girl who gave the Captain Anbjorn mead suddenly exclaimed. Halfway through the story several children were drawn by his compelling tale and were now sitting on crates opposite him or on the ground. Her outburst attracted even more children to come forward.

"When did this engagement happen?!" an older girl in her teens with pimples and crooked teeth asked excitedly. I was a bit put off that this new audience interrupted the story but Captain Anbjorn didn't seem to mind.

"When she was eight years old and he was three. It was all an arranged thing for political alliance of course. It took three years to negotiate that marriage pact but it was set and they had to wait until they were both over 18 to get married. Queen Elsa was five years older so she would be 23 at that time. She waited to honor that contract. But what does this Prince Eric do? Upon the death of his father—which came a bit short of his 18th birthday, he sends her one note saying he's breaking it because he wants to marry for love. Can you believe that? He didn't even come personally, just a cold informal note. The insult nearly severed ties between Tastris and Arendelle."

"And then what happened?" a golden haired little chit with a stain on her dress asked. She had her hands curled under her chin with her wide eyes all on the captain.

"Well Tastris' ambassador Grimsby had to come over to Arendelle to beg for indulgence for his wayward prince and to assure that the trade relations would continue despite the broken marriage pact. He planned on getting the prince to come to Arendelle to meet Queen Elsa. I think he was hoping that maybe when Prince Eric meets her, love would blossom and the pact can be mended. They actually set sail just before the prince's birthday and we were all prepared to welcome him when fate struck."

The girls all giggled in anticipation. I rolled my eyes heavenward. _Girls and their crazy romantic notions, _I thought.

"He got shipwrecked on the eve of his birthday and they were forced to go back home. A short time after that, he meets some girl and marries her in three days."

"Three days?" the girl with the mead wrinkled her nose. "Who marries someone they met in three days?"

"Exactly. Years of marriage negotiations and strategic alliance all went down the drain over the misplaced notion of true love," he said sarcastically. "Queen Elsa didn't lose much though except for her pride. It turns out she could have done worse by marrying him because Prince Eric is a political idiot. After breaking their engagement—a move that almost cost Tastris a valuable ally—he imposes a ban on their number one industry, fishing. About two years later he closes the doors to their main ports. All goods coming in and out now need to take the longer route several kilometers east."

"That's crazy," one little boy about my age said.

"No, it's stupid," I told them. "Queen Elsa had too much sense to marry someone like that. If I become king, I would think twice about an alliance with this kingdom. But let's get back to the story," I urged.

"Ah yes, of course," said Captain Anbjorn. "So where was I?"

_I told Westergard about the fiasco of the engagement and he just shook his head and gave me that knowing grin of his. "I heard rumors his wife was some sort of odd ball with an aversion to fish. Too bad she imposed it on the entire kingdom."_

"_Well if they do welcome us, I suppose not being able to eat fish is the least of our worries," I laughed. _

_There was a knock on the door and one of my younger lieutenants poked his head in. "Captain Anbjorn? The Queen is requesting an audience."_

"_Of course. Please tell her majesty I would be very glad to receive her and I apologize that she had to come to me in this state."_

_The young sailor nodded and left. Westergard stood up. _

"_I should leave you," he said as he clasped my friend. "Rest well, my friend."_

"_Same to you, you need it after that crazy stunt you pulled."_

_He nodded and turned. As he opened the door, the Queen appeared._

"_Your majesty," Westergard acknowledged her with an elegant bow._

"_Captain," she nodded curtly without meeting his gaze._

_When he was gone, Queen Elsa closed the door then sat on the chair where Westergard had been earlier._

"_How are you feeling?" she asked warmly._

"_I've felt better," I told her. "I'll be up soon, don't you worry." I noticed that one side of her neck was bandaged with gauge covering an obvious wound. "What happened?"_

_She shrugged. "It's nothing, just a scratch. But I'm glad you're alright. I guess you know. Captain Kaj is dead."_

"_I know."_

_We were silent for a while as a short tribute to that man._

"_We'll take a rest at Tastris," Queen Elsa said. "Hopefully you'll be able to recuperate then. We'll find supplies and get back on our feet." She paused and then: "Captain, I need you to lead the fleet."_

_I was surprised at what she offered. But then I realized I should have seen this coming. With Kaj dead, I was next in line, though I didn't agree with her._

"_Elsa, look at me. I'm in no position to lead your fleet."_

"_You'll recover," she said. "The doctor said—" _

"_I'm not talking about my leg," I said gently. "Elsa, I'm sixty-seven years old. I've served both your father and your grandfather. If the war hadn't broken out I would be retired by now. As much as I want to, I'm not the best person to help you in this war." I stopped to let my words sink in then added. "You know who is."_

_She fell silent and touched the wound of her neck self-consciously. "No," she uttered softly. She got up and turned away. "No, I can't… not him."_

"_Elsa, he was Rochport's choice to succeed him and you know it. Kaj only took the position to head the fleet because you insisted. Even then he refused to be promoted to admiral. I'm refusing it too, Elsa."_

"_You can't refuse this," she cried. "Please…"_

_I shook my head. "His pure nerve and clever strategy saved us three days ago. He's been doing that for quite some time. Isn't that enough to earn your trust?"_

"Who? Who was it that she needs to trust?" interrupted a little boy. All the other children were asking the same thing but I didn't need to have that question answered. It was obvious Captain Anbjorn was referring to Captain Westergard. But how come Aunt Elsa didn't want him leading her fleet? I was about to ask when Lady Anja, Aunt Elsa's handmaid appeared with two lieutenants in tow.

"Oh there you are, Captain. Queen Elsa and Admiral Westergard had me looking all over for you. It would not be fitting to have one of the heroes of Arendelle left behind in the honor parade. They insisted you be part of it." She motioned to the soldiers behind her with a waiting horse.

"Ahh, well… duty calls," said the Captain. "I'm sorry children. We'll pick this up later." I helped him with the two soldiers up his horse and he was led away.

I was disappointed that the Captain left me with some unanswered questions. I looked forward to catch up on him later. I turned to find Lady Anja looking at me.

"Well Prince Fredrik. Your mother is asking for you. She's back at the castle preparing the victory ball for tonight. So shall we?"

She held out her arm and I took it. We walked together towards the castle. Lady Anja was only 16 but she was one of the few women who were brave enough to volunteer to join Aunt Elsa at sea when the war broke out. Certainly she would know what happened next.

"So tell me what happened after the fleet escaped from the Weselton forces?"

"Oh, it was very exciting but very scary," she said with an almost dreamy expression on her freckled face. Then she went on…

_I huddled below deck with two other ladies. We were in tears and praying so hard as we heard shouts and gunshots from above, fighting over the din of the familiar canon fire. We knew we were boarded and there was only a matter of time before they got to us. Queen Elsa had run up deck at the start of the battle. I heard her scream and we cowered even more, certain that it was the end. I felt the temperature drop and knew the Queen was terrified. Was she dying up there? _

_Minutes ticked by, slow and agonizing. The gunshots had ceased but the canonfire kept up._

_Then an explosion!_

_I shrieked as the ship rocked. And there was cheering from the men but only for a short while for I could hear the Queen again shouting to someone._

"_Turn back to Arendelle! They're coming!"_

"_It's too late. We're too far, your majesty!" _

_I felt the ship turn and I_ _managed to look out a porthole that for once had a clear view. I saw several enemy ships on the way to Arendelle. I was paralyzed with fear. Would I ever see mother and father alive again? Or my little brothers?_

_The ship turned again and I lost my view. All I could see through the porthole was splashing water and debris. It was useless to look. More minutes went by. A blast of canon fire. The sounds of crunching wood. Men screaming. It didn't seem to end._

_Finally I couldn't take it anymore. If I were to die, then I don't want to do so cowering in a corner. _

_I gathered my courage and walked out. The other two ladies begged me to stay but I was resolved. I went up the deck and nobody stopped me. I found several bodies I didn't know. Despite my horror I was relieved that none were wearing Arendelle green. That was until I reached the top deck and found Captain Kaj's lifeless body. My eyes prickled with fresh tears but there was no time to grieve. Men were shouting for help. I saw the Kjestin was badly damaged from a direct canon hit. They were transferring their wounded to the Alexandra. _

_I ran back to the entrance of the deck and shouted to my two companions to come up and help then I proceeded to assist. I cleared one side of the top deck and started tending to the wounded._

_Captain Westergard gently laid down a wounded soldier beside me. "Where's the Queen?" he asked._

_I shook my head. He didn't wait for a response and began shouting for her. _

_There was a familiar scream and I looked up to see Queen Elsa. A large strange man held her from behind and he had a knife at her throat. I realized it was one of the men that must have boarded earlier. _

"_This war ends now!" he threatened menacingly. "Lower your weapons and surrender or the witch dies."_

_Frost began forming all over the deck and Queen Elsa gasped. The blade had already pierced her skin and was now drawing blood. _

_Soldiers all around me were throwing their weapons down on the deck. But one man stepped forward directly in front of the Queen and her attacker. It was Captain Westergard._

"_Do you trust me?" the question was directed at the Queen._

_She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment. I could see that she was confused and hesitant, but finally she gave a slight nod. _

_Captain Westergard brought out a pistol and fired._

_I screamed along with the Queen. _

_There was smoke from the gunshot. When it cleared I saw her attacker on the deck dead from a single bullet to the head. _

_Queen Elsa lay crouched a short distance away in Captain Westergard's arms. There was a gash at her throat though it didn't appear to be deep and she seemed alright, though she was sobbing and clearly shaken. He held her tight for a moment with one of his hands running through her loosened platinum hair and he murmured something into her ear. She shut her eyes and clutched tighter at him with her head resting on his shoulder. At that moment I thought how fitting they seemed together. He looked like a shining knight comforting his gentle lady. _

_But then her eyes suddenly flew open and she pushed him away almost violently, leaving flecks of frost on his uniform._

_He got to his feet and his face registered his usual reserve._

"_The Weselton fleet will be in range in 15 minutes. Your majesty, I need you to build another wall," he implored her with almost business-like detachment."_

_It was then that I noticed the solid wall of ice that was standing before us. I was bewildered by this marvelous object she created. _

_She shook her head. "I-I can't," she cried desperately. "I-I don't h-have the…"_

_He sighed and nodded. "Alright, we've got to find another way. We can't stay here."_

_She took deep breaths. She looked extremely tired. "I don't have the strength to build a wall, but I can hide us for a little while. Set up beacons and signal to our ships to follow our lead. We'll head south."_

"_Yes, your majesty." Captain Westergard moved to obey. The Queen stood on the middle of the deck, her arms raised to the heavens. A thick fog appeared. Under its cover our ships moved stealthily south._

_I busied myself with tending to the wounded and it was already night by the time the fog dissipated completely. There was no sign of the Weselton fleet and we were moving in open waters._

_The next few days were hellish. There was so many wounded to tend to that I barely slept. Captain Westergard and Queen Elsa led the massive work to ensure our supplies were rationed, the limping ships were towed and our rear was well covered. Thankfully, no enemy was sighted. _

_By the fourth day we reached Tastris. The seaside castle with its massive wall loomed before us in a forbidding manner._

_As we approached a company of men appeared above the walls armed with crossbows all pointed directly at us. _

"_Identify yourselves or we will open fire!" one man atop the wall commanded._

_I wanted to shrink back but I saw that Queen Elsa remained in front with Captain Westergard at her side. If the Queen could be brave enough then so would I. I held my ground behind her, though every fiber of my being was protesting to hide. _

_Captain Westergard spoke carefully. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle wishes to meet with King Eric of Tastris."_

_The man on the wall appeared to hesitate for a moment then replied. "Wait where you are and come no closer."_

"_Do you think he'll get the King?" Kai, Queen Elsa's steward asked. "You haven't exactly met him your majesty."_

"_We've written to each other for years," Queen Elsa replied. "He's a friend."_

_Captain Westergard looked at her with a worried expression and uttered the question that all of us wanted to ask. "But can you trust him?"_

**Author's Note: I originally wrote this as a redemption story focusing on Hans but this war has gotten so interesting that I couldn't resist writing the entire thing. So I hope you enjoy it. By the way, anyone realized who King Eric of Tastris is by now?**


	5. Chapter Five: The Secrets of Tastris

**Chapter Five: The Secrets of Tastris**

"So did he welcome you? Or did you have to fight him?" I asked Lady Anja.

She giggled. "I'll tell you about it later. I'm needed inside and you need to see your mother." I realized we had reached the castle. The servants were all bustling about putting up banners and cleaning the main square. She began walking away towards the kitchens.

"Come on, tell me now!" I urged but she just gave me amused smile and skipped away, leaving me alone by the open gate.

"Tell you what, your highness?" It was Kai who spoke. I immediately grasped his hand. Here was a man who would know.

"Tell me what happened when you reached Tastris! Lady Anja said the king's men had you at crossbow point."

The aged steward's face crinkled with humor. "Alright, but only if you promise to get dressed quickly for the victory ball tonight. Your mother insists you look presentable."

"Yes, yes, I will, but tell me!"

He began walking and I followed him. He began to speak…

_Waiting was something I was used to. As the royal steward, my patience for serving royals was unparalleled. I could stand for hours without flexing a muscle. But for the first time in my life I fidgeted while waiting. You can't exactly blame me when I was waiting with the Queen with two dozen men pointing crossbows at us._

_Finally, a figure emerged from the wall. A tall handsome man with black hair appeared. He wore a plain white shirt, blue trousers and a red sash. But he had the bearing of a royal. Queen Elsa lifted her head and called out without hesitation._

"_Eric! It's me, Elsa."_

_He stared at her for a long moment. Certainly he would recognize her from the portraits she sent him over the years. _

_Ever since she was ten years old, Queen Elsa established a correspondence with Prince Eric on a regular basis as part of the marriage pact to get to know her affianced. At first she wrote begrudgingly as a matter of duty. But as years passed she came to look forward to his letters. She used to tell me all about the stories he wrote to her on his adventures at sea. In a way, Prince Eric opened up a world unknown to her in the years she was locked away in her rooms. She came to regard him as a close friend and the fact that she couldn't reveal her abilities to him was one of the things she regretted. _

_His mother died a week before her coronation which prevented him from coming. Grimsby came as Tastris' representative and learned of her abilities with the rest of the foreign dignitaries. Prince Eric's letters came less and less frequent after that. Then just before his 18__th__ birthday, he broke it off completely. Queen Elsa tried to hide her disappointment but I knew she blamed herself for the loss by being less than truthful to him._

_As she stood there waiting below his wall, I wondered what thoughts went through her mind. Did she imagine she could have been queen of this kingdom as well if things turned out differently?_

_Finally, he motioned for his men to lower their weapons. "Elsa? Is it really you?"_

_She nodded. "I need your help. We need supplies, medical attention for our wounded, a place to stay for a while."_

"_To escape from Weselton," he said. He looked a bit uncomfortable but finally said. "Go around five kilometers east. There's a rocky side of the land where you can dock your ships. I'll meet you there."_

"_Thank you," Queen Elsa replied. _

_Our company all breathed with relief. Captain Westergard gave the order and our ships moved on. We found the place where the King pointed us to. The terrain had a natural cover to enable our ships to remain docked without being seen from the open ocean. It was a perfect hiding place. There were signs here of a once thriving port, but its facilities had long ago fallen to the natural elements. The port appeared to have had no visitors for more than a decade. _

_King Eric arrived on his horse with a small contingent of soldiers and met us just as we stepped on the land. Queen Elsa met him and asked for a word alone. They walked a distance away though I could still see them._

"_Do you think he'll let us stay?" I overheard one of the young lieutenants speaking._

"_Of course he will," Captain Westergard replied rather confidently. "The Queen will convince him. He's half-enamored with her already."_

_I raised an eyebrow at the remark. "He's a married man," I reminded him._

"_It doesn't matter," Captain Westergard laughed. "Didn't you see the way he was staring at her earlier? One smile from Queen Elsa and he looked ready to give her the world. Poor devil just realized what he missed out on. I hope for his sake the three-day girl was worth it."_

_The soldiers snickered at the comment and I was about to protest but I saw from the corner of my eye that King Eric did look quite flustered around Queen Elsa. Despite the crass way he put it, Captain Westergard's observation appeared to be accurate. It wasn't something surprising. Half the men Elsa met since she was crowned find her attractive. The other half found her terrifying. King Eric was obviously among the former._

_Captain Westergard's remark quickly set the soldiers buzzing in low tones, sharing rumors about the queen of Tastris. I've heard much of these rumors before. Most were saying she was some siren that bewitched the king and made him fall in love with her. Others told that she was a terrible sea monster who had the king's life at the mercy of her dreaded tentacles. Some though said she was just an ordinary high-born maiden that the king married quickly to prevent a scandal after he dishonored her. _

_All talk ceased when Queen Elsa returned. She brought news that King Eric had agreed to shelter us for now and will provide food and medical aid. _

_Several cottages near the sea were quickly set up as temporary shelters for our men. Supplies and surgeons soon arrived. B__y evening we finished unloading all the men and making the wounded comfortable. _

_King Eric invited Queen Elsa, her ladies and high ranking officers to stay at the castle. We were met there by King Eric's wife. The mysterious Queen Ariel that had been the subject of much speculation turned out to be a rather lovely woman with red hair, bright blue eyes and a bubbly innocent personality that reminded me of Princess Anna. She was very gracious to all the guests and was soon busy talking to our various captains and Queen Elsa's handmaids. I found her charming yet seemingly naïve for a woman in her early thirties. I was beginning to suspect that the rumors about her marriage being a hashed up affair after King Eric seduced her were true. After all, there was an almost parallel situation at home that was just prevented in time."_

"What parallel situation at home?" I asked and Kai cringed.

"Well… er… it's not important Prince Fredrik," Kai said quickly. "Don't you want to know what happens next?"

"Of course, of course, I do." I let him continue.

_Queen Ariel had an 11-year old daughter—a pretty little girl with hair as dark as her father's and a fine soft face like her mother's. She was excited to meet us and all throughout dinner begged us for tales about our travels at sea. She sat next to Captain Westergard who regaled her with stories. By dessert, they were laughing together like old friends. Queen Ariel seemed pleased. She told me her little Melody wasn't used to strangers and was glad she was finally opening up._

_It was late when our company parted ways to retire. But I was restless and wanted a bit of fresh air. I was drawn to a balcony window in the drawing room where I could get a glimpse of the sea beyond the wall. I had been enjoying the view for a moment when I spied two figures strolling along the gardens below under the moonlight. I recognized Queen Elsa and King Eric. They were quite alone and appeared to be enjoying each other's company. She had one hand resting on his arm and a soft smile playing on her lips. He, on the other hand, couldn't seem to keep his eyes away from her. The scene was disturbingly romantic and I felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach._

"_It's not what you think." I startled when I realized I wasn't alone. Captain Westergard stood a few feet away. He too was watching the pair with his usual knowing smile._

"_And what do I think?" I challenged. Whatever I might suspect I wasn't going to let him know about it. I was prepared to defend the Queen's honor._

_He looked amused. "Don't worry Kai, Queen Elsa is an honorable lady. I have no doubt she can handle herself. Right now," He motioned to the scene. "She's negotiating for military support for us." _

_I was surprised by the remark. "How can you be sure?" I asked before I could stop myself. _

"_Because she always placed her people's interests first. She's no fool and she knows an opportunity when she sees it."_

_I had to admit he was right. I stared at the pair below with a rather different view of what exactly was going on. How many times had I witnessed Queen Elsa use her charm to her advantage over a trade negotiation in the past? It was part of the political game. She never stepped over the bounds of propriety. She didn't need to. A look, a few well-placed words or a gentle touch and she had them eating over the palm of her hand. Despite what most people thought, Queen Elsa's most dangerous asset wasn't her ability to create ice. It was her brilliant mind and the way she knew how to deal with people._

"_No need to fret, I'll keep an eye out for her," Westergard continued. I realized he was here on this vantage point for a reason. "I may trust her, but I don't trust him." _

_I found it ironic that this man who had his own reputation as a rake was now on the Queen's side, protecting her from a man with possibly less than honorable intentions. _

"Admiral Westergard was a rake?" I couldn't help but exclaim. "What did he do?"

"He was a pirate before he got conscripted into the military," Kai hurriedly answered. Somehow I felt Kai was holding back but I didn't probe. He was giving me an annoyed expression. I shut up before he decided to stop the story altogether. We had already reached the main hallway. If I keep interrupting, Kai might run off and leave me hanging with a story half-unfinished. But I would definitely question him again another time about this piece of information on Admiral Westergard.

_Two hours later I was relieved when Queen Elsa met us alone in the corridor and called both of us for a walk. She led us pass the gardens and out of the castle gates to where I knew we couldn't possibly be overheard. When she was sure we were alone she spoke._

"_He doesn't want to get involved in our war," she said. "But I think I might I might be able to change his mind. If not additional men, at least I think I can get him to provide aid to repair our ships and stock us with ammunition. It will take a little bit of convincing."_

_She turned to Captain Westergard. "The Christina is in good shape, isn't it Captain?"_

"_Yes, she wasn't damaged at all."_

"_Good. Ready the ship for tomorrow. I'll take Eric sailing. Not far, just beyond the coast. If there's one thing he loves it's the open ocean. He hasn't been there for years and I think he misses it. I'm sure that will put him in a good mood."_

"_Alright, I'll Captain the ship—"_

"_No," she interrupted. "Leave Lt. Aksel in charge and just one or two other men. I want Eric to have an opportunity to show me his sailing skills without them getting in the way." _

_He looked ready to protest but the Queen silenced him with a look that was almost—conspiratorial. "I have a different mission for you. I need you take Queen Ariel out tomorrow. Ask her to show you around their village. Bring Princess Melody along and keep them both entertained."_

_Her words surprised me. Not because Queen Elsa was scheming to get Queen Ariel out of the way but because she was ordering Captain Westergard to do it. She had always been cold to him and with good reason. But I suppose knowing his rather special talents to charm women, he was the best person for this job. _

_His eyes danced with amusement. "So you're asking me to distract the wife so you can be alone with the King. Brilliant your majesty, I couldn't have made a better plan."_

_I could see the Queen was trying to keep on a straight face at the comment. But a tiny smile betrayed her. "It's not just that," she continued. "There's something strange going on here. Don't you think it's a little odd that even though Tastris is defenseless without a navy for years it hasn't been threatened in any way?"_

_She was right. Power-hungry Weselton could have taken this little kingdom a long time ago. Tastris from what I've seen so far wasn't lacking in valuable resources. More importantly, they were strategically located on the coast with a natural port that could have been the gateway to the northern kingdoms. So why hadn't Weselton made a move against it?_

"_Something's protecting this kingdom and it's not their wall," Queen Elsa continued. "I know Eric's family's political clout and it's not him either. I suspect it has something to do with his wife. I need you to find out who she really is. That goes for you as well Kai. Find out what you can from Grimsby or any of the castle staff. Get our people to make inquiries around the kingdom. Someone's bound to slip up something. We'll meet tonight with all the captains to plan what to do next."_

_The next day, I did what she bid me and had all our people probing for answers. Grimsby was tight-lipped but the other servants were not so guarded. I found Carlotta, the matronly head of the household, can chatter up a lot once she found a listening ear. She told me a rather incredible tale that I didn't believe at first but eventually accepted as all the other servants confirmed it._

_Queen Ariel was a mermaid._

"A mermaid?" I gasped. Despite promising myself not to interrupt, I couldn't help it. It was just too preposterous to be believed. I was certain Kai was just toying with me. But the old steward didn't bat an eyelash. "Mermaids are just a myth," I insisted.

"I thought so too," Kai said. "But everyone I talked to swore it was true and when I thought about it, it made a lot of sense. Queen Ariel was once a mermaid. They said she was the daughter of Triton—king of the mer-people and ruler of the Atlantica. He had dominion over the sea creatures and had a powerful trident that can spell death to anyone. Tastris didn't need a navy. The whole ocean surrounding it protected them more efficiently than any human military could. It wasn't that Weselton didn't attack them—in fact they did and some of our crew found evidence of broken Weselton ships near the coast of Tastris. We could only imagine what their fate was."

I tried to picture what he told me and I felt a shiver up my spine on the image of a powerful sea king destroying an entire fleet of ships with one move of his magical trident. I was beginning to see this King Eric in a new light. Maybe he wasn't such a political fool after all. Marrying a princess of the mer-people secured him a more advantageous alliance than with a kingdom that had a queen that can make ice. I realized that Queen Elsa must have seen an incredible opportunity with this information: An alliance with the mer-people could end the war!

I was about to ask Kai to confirm it but he wasn't finished speaking.

"Carlotta told me though that they were sworn to secrecy not to say anything to the Princess Melody," he said.

"Why not?" I frowned.

"Well apparently she doesn't know anything. Not her mother's former life or even that the mer-people existed. There was some threat to her life from a sea creature that was still at large and so her parents had the wall built for her protection. Everyone in the castle was sworn to secrecy not to let the princess know so she wouldn't venture out into danger. She was forbidden from ever going beyond the wall."

"But that's stupid," I interjected. "Keeping things from her to keep her safe isn't going to prevent her from finding out eventually."

Kai shrugged. "Well it's been known to happen."

He was right. My own grandparents did the same thing by concealing Aunt Elsa's powers from my mother and the rest of the kingdom. It ended in disaster.

"Queen Elsa did manage to get King Eric to reveal to her much of what I found out during their little sailing trip that day," Kai continued. "When she arrived back to the port by the evening tide she was in high spirits. She had secured King Eric's support to have our ships repaired and loaded with enough ammunition to get us back into the fight. She also convinced him to tell Melody the truth, citing her own experiences of concealment by her parents. I think Queen Elsa found Princess Melody's plight similar to her own only it was the entire kingdom keeping things from her instead of the other way around. She was genuinely concerned for both the little girl who was being cheated out of her heritage and for King Eric who was forced to keep the secret to placate his wife's protectiveness."

I agreed with my aunt on that aspect. She told me before that keeping the secret of her powers from her sister was a daily torture she would not want on anyone. I couldn't imagine having to keep something like my own ice powers from my little sisters. "So they told Melody?" I asked. I didn't know why the princess interested me so much but I just felt a need to know.

Kai shook his head. "We couldn't have foreseen how fearfully protective Queen Ariel was about her daughter. I wasn't exactly sure what happened that night but King Eric must have spoken to his wife about finally revealing the truth to their daughter. They must have argued and somehow that reverted badly on Queen Elsa who Queen Ariel most likely blamed for rocking the boat. At dinner, the once cheerful Queen Ariel was extremely cold to everyone in our company and she openly snubbed Queen Elsa. Any opportunity for an alliance we could have negotiated for from her side of the family was lost."

I was disappointed. "So that was it? What did you and Aunt Elsa do?"

"We made do with what we have," Kai shrugged. "Which wasn't much. Because although we now have ammunition and supplies, 15 ships wasn't going to win a war against an armada that outnumbered us more than three to one. But then Captain Westergard stepped in…"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__I've taken much of the inspiration here from The Little Mermaid and The Little Mermaid II. Although I do love both movies, I've always wondered how Prince Eric had to deal with the consequences of marrying Ariel. It's quite obvious from the scenes at the start of the first film that his kingdom had a thriving fish industry. Certainly he would have stopped it out of consideration to his wife's family. But the films never really explored how that may have affected the people of their kingdom—a lot of fisherman most likely suddenly lost their jobs. And when the wall came up in the film sequel, it must have made things worse. It wasn't explicitly mentioned in the film but it seemed that it was Ariel who made that decision to keep things from Melody and build that wall. I've tried to imagine how that affected Eric, who was a sailor himself, isolated from what he loves. That could have affected their marriage somehow. But I suppose that can be another story._

_This chapter is my attempt to show a more mature side to Elsa. I figured after 16 years as queen she is also an experienced politician and she knows that in some ways she needs to employ manipulation for the benefit of her kingdom._


	6. Chapter Six: The Plan

**Chapter Six: The Plan**

_Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him._

_- Sun Tzu on The Art of War_

* * *

_After the rather uncomfortable dinner with the Tastris royal family, Queen Elsa ordered a meeting for her highest ranking officers in one of the private drawing rooms of the castle. Just before we started, Queen Elsa voiced her frustration._

"_I shouldn't have meddled, Kai. It wasn't my place," she said as she wrung her hands in the way I knew she was extremely disappointed in herself. "It's just that I couldn't help it. That little girl doesn't deserve to be lied to and locked up like I was. I can sense it in the way she talks and looks past the wall with longing. She loves the sea—the same as her father. That wall is denying them that."_

"_Well under the circumstances your majesty, her parents do have a reason for putting that wall. It's for her own protection. What would you have done in their place?"_

_She stared at me defiantly. "What Anna, Kristoff and I did to Fredrik when we found out he had powers that could be a danger to himself and to others. We told him the truth, told him not to fear and taught him to survive."_

_I didn't have an answer for her for she was right. _

"_Still, I shouldn't have said anything to Eric," she continued as she shook her head. "It's all my stupid fault. We could have allied ourselves with Queen Ariel's family and this war will be over without another shot being fired. Now we have to go back out there alone to face Weselton and it might be a lot sooner. She can kick us out of Tastris tonight and where will we go then?" Her tears freely flowed but turned to little crystal droplets of ice once they fell down her cheek. I felt the temperature drop and I knew how upset she was._

_There was a knock on the door and Queen Elsa hurriedly wiped away her tears and composed herself. Captain Westergard appeared and closed the door behind him._

"_I spoke to Queen Ariel," he began in low tones. _

_Queen Elsa looked expectantly. I could see that she feared the worst._

"_I begged her for mercy for the sake of our wounded men," he said sadly. "She's allowed us to stay for a month—but no more than that."_

_I gasped in relief and Queen Elsa didn't even try to hide her own feelings. _

"_She also agreed to still provide us with provisions, ammunition. Everything King Eric promised us before on the condition…" He stopped and looked uncomfortable._

"_On what condition?" Queen Elsa pleaded._

_He couldn't look at her. "That you keep away from her husband and her daughter."_

_Queen Elsa gave a dejected nod. "I understand. Thank you for speaking to her."_

_The other Arendelle ship captains except for Anbjorn who was still recuperating, began arriving then. Westergard relayed to them the news minus Queen Ariel's ultimatum. There was a noticeable air of relief in the room though their worry on what to do next was still palpable._

"_We can't win this war," Captain Gulbrand of the Lovise said glumly. "Even if we're armed to the teeth, fifteen ships isn't going to cut it against over fifty vessels. They may have broken the siege in Arendelle already." He approached the Queen. "Your majesty, surrender may be our best option. We can discuss terms—"_

_The whole room suddenly erupted with voices. Half the captains were arguing for continued fighting while the other half were for surrender. It went on for quite some time until the Queen silenced them by sending an icy blast to the ceiling that rained snowflakes on everyone._

"_We are not surrendering!" she declared. "Not while I have breath left in my body. I will not have Arendelle become another Glowerhaven."_

_Everyone kept silent. We all knew what happened to Glowerhaven. This tiny nation surrendered to Weselton without much of a fight when they were attacked five years ago. The country was immediately occupied and their princess, the only surviving heir of their royal family, was forced into a marriage with the king of Weselton's brother—the same loathsome Duke that once attempted to have Queen Elsa killed. The princess was made a puppet head and was forced to watch her people be stripped of their rights and her land made into a wasteland when Weselton exploited its precious natural resources without any regard for its sustainability._

"_But what can we do your majesty?" Captain Vas, the young commander of the Johanna finally asked._

_Queen Elsa hesitated. I was sure she was also out of ideas. But then a voice answered for her._

"_We fight back. We take the offense and turn the tables on them!" It was Captain Westergard who spoke with steely determination in his eyes._

"_How?" Captain Gulbrand asked._

"_I have an idea. Hand me the map."_

_One of the captains brought out the huge map we had from the Alexandra. He spread it out over the large table in the drawing room._

"_We're here in Tastris," Captain Westergard pointed to the tip of the southern landmass. "It's relatively protected for now but we can only stay for a month. That gives us time to do repairs. The first thing we need to do is send an emissary to Corona. We have an existing treaty with them that allows us to demand military aid in times of war. Am I right your majesty?"_

"_Yes," Queen Elsa replied. "Corona will send aid when we ask for it. In fact, they have already offered and are probably on the way to Arendelle by now and will be there in two weeks."_

"_Well I need them to hold that aid off for a while. Instead, I want them to meet our fleet here in a month." He pointed to the map. I stared at where his finger landed and was extremely puzzled._

"_But that's just outside the coast of Weasletown!" exclaimed Captain Gulbrand who just voiced my opinion. "You want us to put our ships right in front of the enemy lines?!"_

"_He's right Captain Westergard," I said. "Even with the Corona fleet—which isn't that big either—we won't be able to stand against Weselton—not when we're that close to their land and their reinforcements."_

"_Well this is the bit of the tricky part. We need to make sure there aren't any reinforcements but I need her majesty's help to make it happen."_

"_What can I do?" Queen Elsa asked._

"_First I need you to plant ice bergs along the coast of the Weselton, keep them under the waves so their ships won't know they're there until they've run aground on them. A first small contingent of our fleet will appear here," he pointed to the middle coast of Weselton. It will draw the Weselton fleet to chase us down. Then our second contingent with the Corona fleet will appear from two sides and force them to retreat. When they do they'll strike the icebergs that can cut them to ribbons."_

"_But I need to create the icebergs close to Weselton's coast," The Queen said. "My powers aren't exactly long range. I need to be near enough to create those icebergs."_

"_And you will, your majesty. You'll be creating those icebergs from the coast of Weselton."_

_A chorus of "whats?"answered him. _

_Captain Westergard didn't seem perturbed. "We need to smuggle the Queen near the coast of Weselton." _

"_And how exactly do we do that?" asked one Captain Lorens of the Lisbet._

_Captain Westergard pointed to the map. "By using its backdoor through the Southern Isles."_

_Everyone stared at the map though we didn't need to. Everyone in the room knew that Weselton was located between one river and a mountain pass from the western most island of the Southern Isles. The Southern Isles had kept its neutrality in the war between Arendelle and Weselton. Being the next-door neighbor to Weselton, it wasn't in its advantage to aid us._

"_No," the Queen shook her head. "We can't negotiate for safe passage through the Southern Isles. They'll never give it."_

"_We're not going to," Captain Westergard said. He faced the Queen directly. "You just need somebody that can guide you who knows the terrain, who is familiar with the checkpoints and knows the way to get in and out without being detected. Someone like me."_

_The Queen's eyes bulged at the statement. "You're offering…"_

"_No offense to everyone here, but no one except me has lived or has ever set foot on the Southern Isles. I can get you in your majesty, if you'll let me." His eyes pleaded hers and I could see the Queen was torn. I could see what was going through her mind: trust a man she isn't inclined to or let her people down._

_A long moment passed and yet the Queen gave no assent. Finally Captain Westergard spoke. "You don't have to make the decision now, your majesty. Think about it. Just let me finish the outline of the plan. He turned back to the map. "We need to make sure, all the enemy ships move closer together to get the maximum damage. The smaller their maneuverable space, the better. We concentrate our firing here and here. It will force them to retreat into the icebergs."_

"_Sounds like a good plan," said the Captain Bjorn of the Malin. "Except for one problem. How can we be sure the Weselton fleet will go back near their coast? They can be out in the open sea hunting us down. And even if we destroy their fleet, we can't go up against an armed populace in their land."_

_The other captains murmured in agreement. It was indeed a big flaw._

"_Oh we won't have to and that fleet will go back," Captain Westergard said without a sign of worry. "Because their country will be under siege."_

"_Under siege?" interjected the Anna's Captain Vas. "How?"_

_Captain Westergard spoke with a voice devoid of all emotion. "Well that's because three days before we attack at sea, the Queen will build another wall of ice that will enclose the entire Weselton coast. It will not only send their fleet scampering to protect their land but it will also keep them from sending out reinforcements to their fleet. In addition, it will sow confusion inside their city. Even if we defeat the fleet outside, the wall will remain. A sudden icy winter will set in the middle of summer when they have no stores…" _

"_And we'll starve the population until they surrender," Queen Elsa finished for him._

_The plan sent a chill down my spine in the way it was laid out. It was deceptive, calculating, merciless… and would effectively end all our problems. _

_One by one the other captains began agreeing. In less than a minute all of them were sold on the idea and were even commending Captain Westergard for it. But the Captain that gave them the plan remained silent. He was looking to the Queen with a grave expression._

_She shook her head. "No."_

"_But you majesty…" the captains protested._

"_No!" she repeated. "I'm not going to kill hundreds of innocent civilians!"_

"_They're not innocent," protested Captain Gulbrand. "Their citizens have been living a luxury of riches built on the plunder of the Scandinavian territories for years."_

"_Be that as it may," said Queen Elsa. "Certainly there are children who have no knowledge of these. I'm not going to harm them." _

"_And you won't your majesty." remarked Captain Vas. "If Weselton surrenders immediately."_

"_What if they don't?" she exclaimed._

"_What choice do we have?" argued Captain Lorens. "If Weselton doesn't surrender after this you can guarantee they will strike again. This is our chance to end the reign of terror they've enforced in the Scandinavian territories for years!"_

_But the Queen kept shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I can't! There has to be another way."_

_She stormed out of the drawing room leaving a trail of snow on the floor. My heart sank. We all knew there was no other way._

"_I'll talk to her," Captain Westergard said before following her outside._

_The captains and I remained in the drawing room in silence for a long time. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they returned. Queen Elsa had a resolved look on her face. _

"_You may proceed with the preparations to execute Captain Westergard's plans. He and I depart tomorrow for the Southern Isles."_


	7. Chapter Seven: What it Means to Rule

**Chapter Seven: What it Means to Rule**

"So Queen Elsa consented to the plan?" I asked rather puzzled. She seemed rather resolved against it before and with good reason. "Why?"

Kai shrugged. "I really don't know. She never told me what happened when they talked. I suppose Captain Westergard convinced her it was the only way. And it was what won us the war."

My mind swirled in horror. I simply couldn't imagine my sweet and loving aunt as a monster murdering innocents.

"It didn't come to that," the steward assured me as if he read what I was thinking. "By God's mercy, she was spared from committing an atrocity that could have ended many lives. Weselton surrendered in two days. Queen Elsa didn't even need to create an ice storm."

I felt enormously relieved at that, though I felt discomfited that that my aunt decided to commit mass murder to end the war. I wondered what Admiral Westergard could have said to her to convince her to make such a decision. I wanted to ask Kai for the full details of what happened but we had already reached my quarters and he was gesturing to my door.

"Do hurry and get dressed your highness. Princess Anna expects you down in the hall in half an hour," Kai said.

"Of course," I said. "Thanks for sharing it with me Kai." He gave me a short bow then started walking away down the hall to resume his duties. I was about to enter my door when Kai stopped and called out.

"Prince Fredrik, don't judge Queen Elsa too harshly. When you rule, sometimes there are decisions you cannot help but make for the greater good."

I nodded and thanked him again. I entered my room and sat down at the edge of my bed. I thought for a long moment what he said. When I become king would I ever be faced with such a moral decision? And if I was would I be making the right one?

I let out a few ice sparks from my hands and I watched it rain little snowflakes on my bedroom. For the first time in my life I realized what this this gift truly meant. This power can promote both good and evil. Yet sometimes, it's hard to discern which is which. I prayed I would never have to face that question in my life.

I suddenly remembered I was expected downstairs in a few minutes. And I wanted to hear more stories about the war before the formalities of the victory ball went on. I took the quickest change in my life though it didn't seem fast enough. I wish I could learn how Aunt Elsa manages to change her outfits using only her ice powers. It would be so much more convenient.

I was out of my door in ten minutes. The moment I stepped out my room, I was yanked back by the collar.

"Not so fast, Fredrik!" Mother scolded. "Let me look at you." She gave a little laugh. "You've got your buttons all wrong."

I looked down. In my rush to get dressed, I've inserted each of my buttons one hole away from the right one making my shirt look lopsided. She began fixing them as I tapped my foot impatiently.

"Now I want you to be in your best behavior. We are hosting a victory ball for all the returning sailors of Arendelle and there will be a special toast for the homeguard as well."

"Will the ice harvesters be there?" I asked.

"Of course they will and so would I," a familiar voice spoke from behind me. I turned-ran to hug the tall man that appeared.

"Good to have you back, Papa," I said. I haven't seen him in a week as he had been patrolling the mountains with his group of ice harvesters. Olaf was with him and so I figured he had returned when the snowman met me in the square.

"Kristoff," Mother cried happily before they sandwiched me in a three-way hug. They shared a lingering kiss that went on for a minute until I squirmed out of the way in disgust. They finally broke apart and Father gave one final kiss to Mother on her cheek before kissing her on the top of her round stomach. He reached out and ruffled my hair.

"And where are you off in such a hurry?" he asked.

"I want to hear more stories about the war from the returning soldiers," I said.

"Don't you want to hear stories about my side of the war?" he asked.

"You weren't in the war, Papa."

He gave a pout. "Of course I was. I was patrolling the mountains. And did you know that we captured some pirates just now?"

I gaped open. "You did?"

"Didn't Olaf tell you?"

I shook my head.

"That Olaf is really quite the commander," Father said wistfully.

"Are we talking about the same cuddly, eternally cheerful, carrot-nosed-snowman-with-a-personal-flurry-Olaf here?" I asked.

"Yup, you haven't seen his tough side yet."

"He has a tough side?" Mother asked.

Father laughed. "It turns out he did. Come on walk with me and I'll tell you all about it..."

_It's been a week since I've seen nothing but snowy-white mountains. Patrol duty was starting to get to me and all I could think of was to get back home in front of the fire with my darling wife and children cuddled next to me. But I knew that their safety was a priority and so here I was, my scraggly beard scratching my face while the cold stung my cheeks._

_I sat on a boulder and huddled close to Sven for warmth as I stared into the valley below where I knew Anna and the kids would probably be busy going about their usual day. I clutched at the golden locket that I wore constantly around my neck—a token reminder of my family and felt comforted that they were still safe though I worried how much longer they will be. It was still the height of summer—a blessing I never forgot to be thankful for. But in another month fall would start and then deadly winter._

"_Where are you Elsa?" I whispered into the air, hoping that somehow my words would be carried back to her by the wind. Despite the years I've known her as my sister-in-law, there was something about her ice powers that never ceases to awe me. Ice has been my life from as early as I can remember and I've come to think of her as something that gives me and all the rest of Arendelle life. It was odd but I thought of Elsa sometimes as more of a mother than a sister. She wasn't the warm type that would hug you like my adopted mother Bulda. But she was someone I've always looked up to for troubles I knew I couldn't handle. There was something comforting in knowing that we were all safe with her on the throne. The last few weeks without her had left me with a feeling of uneasiness. Anna was doing the best she can, though I felt it wasn't the same. I knew that if anything happened to Elsa and Anna would take the throne I would do everything I have to support her reign. But I knew I wouldn't be much help. A prince consort to the queen wasn't something I was looking forward to becoming. _

_A chilly breeze whipped the loose strands of my hair that escaped my cap. I wished for it to bring my message to its mistress: "We need you home soon, Elsa. Do what needs to be done. Just come back."_

_The four ice harvesters that accompanied me on patrol were busy cooking our lunch. They were singing together a familiar harvesting song. Normally I would be the first to lead them into the chorus but I wasn't really up to it._

"_Crack!"_

_The sound was faint but it was definitely something. I stood up and shushed my companions._

"_What's wrong Kristoff?" one of them asked._

"_I heard something," I whispered. _

_A tense silence hung in the air and my ears pricked as I heard something—this time I recognized a raspy voice. I took out my harvesting blade and silently motioned my men to do the same. _

_Suddenly there were angry voices. Men—dozens of them in filthy rags, armed to the teeth with eyes blazing wildly were all around us. _

"_Drop yer weapons lad if you want to live," threatened one tall man with dirty dark hair and a beard that covered most of his face. His eyes were bloodshot and he had a desperate look about him made me realize he had no qualms about shooting me and my companions if I made a wrong move. We gently laid down our weapons onto the snow-covered ground. _

"_They have food!" one of the wild men cried over our half-cooked meal. A scuffle ensured among our captors as they fought over our stores. Our packs were seized and they began stuffing themselves with our rations._

"_Who are you?" I demanded from the man that threatened me. He was among the few that restrained themselves from gorging like the rest and were still pointing pistols at our heads._

"_We're the victims of that monster you call queen," he replied, spitting the last word as if it disgusted him. _

"_She's not a monster!" I cried out in protested._

"_Oh yes she is," he hissed at me. He came forward so close I almost choked at his foul stench. "Do you know what that creature did? She left us to die when she trapped us between two walls of ice for weeks until our stores ran out."_

"_What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled. The Elsa I knew would never knowingly harm anyone._

"_That witch built a second wall after the first one around Arendelle. Both walls were impenetrable to canon fire and we were left without a way out. Our men were starving so we had to scale those mountains to search for food. It was a death trap. We started off with more than three hundred men on twenty ships. This is all that's left."_

_I realized they were the pirates that attacked us just before Elsa's wall appeared. The fishermen have been reporting that the pirate vessels beyond the wall haven't been sighted in days. We presumed they had gone off perhaps to resupply or get reinforcements. Never could I have imagined that Elsa could have built a second wall that entrapped our own besiegers. I couldn't help but admire the sheer brilliance of Elsa's use of her powers. She not only protected us from the pirates but also found a way to reduce their numbers without needing to fire a shot. _

_Not that this would help myself or my companions. I estimated that there were at least 40 or 50 men holding us captive—though they hardly looked like men anymore. They were incredibly thin and their faces were gaunt. I could see some of them had extremities already showing signs of frostbite and from the coughs I was hearing most were already sick or dying. These were desperate men and that made them all the more dangerous._

"_You will take us to village," the same man who I now presumed was their leader, ordered._

_I stared back defiantly at him. "No."_

"_Fine then," replied another man with blackened teeth. "I guess your flesh will serve us well tonight."_

_I gulped in horror though I fought not to show it. If these men have been starving for weeks, no doubt cannibalism had likely occurred among their dead. It could only mean we were next. But no matter what they did to me, I will not put my family or any of Arendelle's citizens in danger._

"_I'll start with the talkative one," the savage man replied as he raised his knife._

"_Wait!" the leader stopped him. He came forward and I saw him looking at something on my chest. The golden locket that Anna had given to me on our last wedding anniversary was still hanging outside of my coat. The man grabbed it viciously until the chain snapped. "This is the royal crest of Arendelle," the man said. To my dismay, he opened it where I knew he would find the portraits of Anna and my children inside. He stared at it for a moment before his face lit in a chilling smile._

"_We're in luck boys," he told his companions. "This here's the husband of the princess regent. A very valuable hostage. I'm sure his lady wife will open her doors for us if she wants to see him alive. We'll keep him with us. Keep the reindeer too, he'll carry the wounded. Kill the rest."_

_My companions were being forced to kneel on the ground. They were crying to me their last messages to their families. All I could do was assure them I would do everything to let their loved ones know of their affections._

_Suddenly there was a blood-curling scream from one of our captors. I looked up and saw that they were pointing at a familiar figure emerging from the north side of the mountain. _

"_There you are Kristoff!" Olaf said cheerfully. "And who are these guys?"_

"_It's one of the witch's creatures!" one of the pirates cried at Olaf. There were collective gasps and some men ran back away from the little snowman while crying out:_

"_It's alive!"_

"_It's the devil!"_

"_Keep it away!" _

_Olaf scratched his head with one of his twig arms. "I'm not sure what you mean. But I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs. And you are…?"_

_I would have laughed at Olaf's innocence if the situation wasn't so dire. "Olaf, these are pirates that are trying to kill us," I said._

"_Oh… so that would explain the pistols and knife-wielding," he said without missing his cheerful tone. "That's not very nice."_

_Bang!_

_A gunshot blew a hole in the middle of Olaf's stomach—if he had a stomach. The snowman looked startled then glanced down at his now gaping midsection. "That's not very nice either!" he protested. _

"_Olaf, these are bad men!" I cried in exasperation. "They're trying to hurt us!"_

"_Oh… well in that case," Olaf said as he held his head high. "By the power vested in me by Queen Elsa of Arendelle, pirates, I demand your surrender!"_

_There was a short pause and then one by one the men began to laugh._

"_It's just a silly little snowman," one pirate said. "Let me put it out of its misery." _

_Bang!_

_Another shot flew and this time it narrowly missed Olaf's feet—or bottom—or whatever it was he uses to walk._

_Bang!_

_This time the bullet sent his carrot nose flying to his cheek. I was getting worried that Olaf was getting hurt. However, he just grabbed his nose and fixed it back into place before his face registered obvious annoyance. "Fine, this means… Marshmallows!"_

_The men continued to laugh. _

"_What are you going to do send us a box of sweets?" one of the pirates taunted him. _

"_No," Olaf said as his personal flurry began repairing the hole on his body. "You don't deserve them. Marshmallows attack!"_

_There was a rumble on the ground and the men stopped laughing. Then from the north mountain the mounds of snow began to rise and several icemen emerged all fluffy and cuddly like Olaf though each was roughly about twelve feet tall._

_The men stood in awe then fear as ice spikes appeared on the icemen's skins making them appear like white reptilian giants. The men tried to run but they were no match for Elsa's ice giants which we ice harvesters had long ago fondly renamed the Marshmallow Brigade. Olaf was in the thick of the fighting, pelting snowballs on one fleeing foe after another until they slipped or were bashed by his bigger brothers._

_My ice harvester companions and I regained our weapons and together we soon disarmed the pirates and rounded them up. We marched them down the mountain for several hours. The ones that were too weak to walk, I had the ice giants carried. When we reached the bottom of the mountain just outside Oaken's Trading Post, I ordered to stop and make camp for the moment. I sent one of my men to call for reinforcements so we could have the prisoners properly secured before proceeding to the village._

"_So what are you going to do to us? Freeze us to death?" the leader taunted me._

"_No," I told him. I knew he was expecting a direct execution or perhaps torture. No doubt after seeing Elsa's giants they now feared the worst. I don't even know why I'm bothering to explain but somehow I wanted to show these people that we were no monsters. "When the reinforcements are here, you and your men will have food and have your injuries treated. Then you'll be taken to the castle dungeons where you will await judgment."_

_The man snorted. "You expect to me believe you will feed us and treat us before you hand out our death sentences. Your princess wife must be a very foolish woman to even bother."_

"_Food and care are more than what you deserve," I spat back. "But my wife is the most kind-hearted soul in the world and despite what you are and what you've done she'll give you a fair judgment." _

"_Actually Queen Elsa will judge them," a familiar voice in a thick accent said behind me. I turned around and found Oaken towering over me. He had a smile plastered on his face as he announced: "The Queen is back, the war is over! No more siege and now I can re-open with a big summer blowout!"_

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__I'm a little stuck on my serious plotlines so I decided to add a light-hearted chapter for once. I must admit, I wrote this primarily just to make Olaf say "I demand your surrender" and also to __give a little spotlight on Kristoff and his own role in the war._


	8. Of Smoulders and Children's Parties

**Chapter Eight: Of Smoulders and Children's Parties**

_All warfare is based on deception_

- _Sun Tzu on "The Art of War"_

"Oh Kristoff, I'm so glad the Marshmallow Brigade was there," Mother half-sobbed when Father finished his story. She clutched at his arm half-way through his tale and didn't let go. She was clearly shaken by his ordeal and it terrified me too. We could have lost Father, Sven and the other ice harvesters. "Where are the pirate prisoners now?" she asked.

"In the dungeons being treated," Father replied. "They're probably being served soup right now. I hope you don't mind, I've already taken the liberty to have them taken care of."

"Of course not Kristoff," Mother said. "You did right. Though if they had hurt you, I'm not so sure I would agree with your generosity. I'm just glad you're home and that Elsa's back so I won't have to decide on what to do with them."

We had already reached the main hall of the castle that was now beginning to fill up with people. My aunt was nowhere in sight yet but I spied Olaf enter the large oaken front doors. Mother and I eagerly ran to him and gave him a crushing hug.

"Olaf, you're my hero!" Mother cried. "Thank you so much for protecting Kristoff and Sven from those nasty pirates."

"They're mean and I don't like them very much," Olaf said. "But me and the Marshmallows showed them," he said rather proudly.

"I heard what you and your brothers did and I'm so grateful," said Mother. "Fredrik, you think maybe the Marshmallow Brigade can come over to the victory celebration tonight? Even just outside the square. They're heroes too and we shouldn't leave them behind. They can't go beyond Oaken's trading post as they'll melt but maybe you can create a few personal flurries for them so they can join us for the celebrations."

"I think it's a wonderful idea Mama," I said as I let out a few sparks of ice from my hands. "I'm sure I can manage something like that just for a few hours."

"Would you mind heading there now? Take…" she looked around and saw a young tall man in his green Arendelle uniform passing nearby. Mother ran forward and grabbed his arm. "Lt. Aksel?"

"Your highness," the black haired, dark-skinnned youth gave a bow.

"Can you bring Fredrik up the north mountain into Oaken's? Get the Marshmallow Brigade down to the square so they can join us for the party tonight."

"It will be a pleasure Princess Anna," he said. He offered me his arm. "Shall we go Prince Fredrik?"

Mother gave me a quick kiss in the forehead before I took the soldier's arm eagerly. She couldn't have provided me with a better companion. As first officer of the Christina, Lt. Aksel was in the thick of the fighting and would know a lot of stories on the war. Oaken's post was quite a distance away and it would give us enough time for a long chat.

"Tell me a story, lieutenant. About the war," I said as we walked towards the stables.

"It's Captain now, actually. I moved up when Admiral Westergard got promoted." His eyes were shinning. He was lean, muscular and with a light scar on his left cheek that made him look older than his 27 years. I can understand his enthusiasm. He wasn't born into privilege but got into the military under Aunt Elsa's equal opportunity program that she started a few years after she became queen. Prior to her enacted law, one can only get into the military if one had the influence to gain a commission. Everyone that got promoted did so only through the recommendation of one noble lord or another. Aunt Elsa's program allowed even the common peasants to join in and get promoted if they could pass the series of military exams. The evaluations were dealt with fairly to all candidates regardless of background. I myself was set to take it next fall in order to qualify for military service.

"That's wonderful," I said. "Congratulations. What ship did you get?"

"The Christina of course. Smallest one in the fleet but I wouldn't trade her for anything. She's a fine ship and I think she's a real good luck charm for all the men that have captained her."

I realized he was right. The intrepid vessel had been captained by both Admiral Rochport and Admiral Westergard in the past.

"I'm hoping that little lady will take me places. I never really thought I could reach this far. It means so much to me when I've got Ma and five little brothers and sisters to support. With the pay increase, I can marry my Roslin next summer instead of waiting for another five years. Who knows, maybe I can be admiral someday too." He stopped as he realized I was with him. "I beg pardon your highness if I'm too forward."

"No, no," I assured him. "I understand. There's nothing wrong about having dreams and ambitions."

"Thank you Prince Fredrik. I mean Admiral Westergard has been a great mentor to me. And I'm grateful he recommended me for the position I have now. Brave man, he is. Brilliant too."

We reached the stables and our talk momentarily paused as we saddled two horses. Captain Aksel donned a warm cloak and offered to get me one. I shook my head, reminding him that the cold never really bothered me.

"Tell me all about Admiral Westergard and how he became a hero," I said when we were off trotting towards the north mountain. "Kai said he and Queen Elsa left the day after your war council in Tastris for the Southern Isles."

"Well they didn't exactly leave immediately after the war council," he replied. "They delayed it slightly for three days."

"Why?" I asked.

He gave a sly little smile. "That's because he had to attend a children's party…"

_As soon as the war council was dismissed Captain Westergard called me to his side. "I need you to get me that bottle of vintage wine from my personal store in the Christina that I've been saving. Then get me two glasses from the kitchen and meet me in the eastern garden in half an hour."_

_"Are we celebrating Captain?" I asked rather puzzled._

_"Not exactly. I'm working on something and if all goes well we might have a little bit more advantage on our side." He paused in the hallway to check himself in one of the mirrors that lined the walls. He ran a hand through his auburn hair and grinned at his reflection in a self-assured manner. "Not too shabby. You think she'll fall for my smoulder?" _

_"Who?" I asked. "And what's a smoulder?"_

_He laughed. "The who is Queen Ariel. The smoulder is something I picked up from the previous ruffian-turned-prince of Corona Flynn Rider when I visited this quaint little place called the Snuggly Duckling once. I vastly improved his version of course. His only makes women think he looks constipated instead of charming." He grinned at himself in the mirror with one eye slightly squinting rather devilishly. Don't worry Aksel, I'll teach it to you sometime. Now go get me that bottle."_

_I left him still staring at his own reflection. _

_I had no trouble retrieving the bottle from our ship then proceeded to the kitchen to get the glasses. I was met with one of the maids. A mischievous thought entered my head and I asked her for the glasses while attempting to do the same grin Captain Westergard made in the mirror earlier._

_The maid blushed, backed into a set of stacked pots and told me in an almost breathy voice that I can have anything I wanted. I was rather astonished at the effect. That smoulder was an excellent weapon when done right. I reminded myself to get more tips from Captain Westergard on it._

_I reached the eastern garden just as I spied Captain Westergard with Queen Ariel beside him. He excused himself momentarily from his companion and met me. I handed him the bottle and glasses._

_"Thanks Aksel," he said as he placed the glasses in his back pocket._

_"Errr… try not to sit Captain," I reminded him._

_He rolled his eyes. "I am very much aware of the glasses Aksel. Now keep out of sight and stay in the shadows. Feel free to watch and listen though. You might find this useful someday."_

_He plucked a small blossom growing from a nearby bush. He returned to the Queen and presented to her the bottle of wine._

_"It's not much," I heard him say to her. "But please accept this humble offer Queen Ariel. It's the last bottle of one of my finest vintages. A small token for your generosity. The lives of my men are forever in your debt."_

_Queen Ariel looked surprised but didn't hide her pleasure at the gift. "Thank you, Captain, but I don't drink very often and I don't want to deny you the pleasure of your last bottle," she said._

_"But this is special," he said. "You've never truly lived until you've tasted this wine from my homeland. I insist that you have it. It is but a trifle compared to what you've done for us. And please call me Hans. Your friendship is most important to me. I would be honored if you called me by my given name."_

_She seemed to consider for a moment. "Well I suppose we can just share it, Hans. And please do call me Ariel. I've never been comfortable using titles among my friends."_

_"You are too kind," he said before producing the glasses with a sleight of hand._

_"Where did you..." she asked with clear surprise._

_"Ahhh... that is my little secret Ariel. Consider it a magic trick. Just like..." he paused and his hand reached up as if he was going to caress her cheek. But his fingers instead went pass her head and he produced the blossom he plucked earlier. "This. For you my sweet Ariel. This flower can only be made lovelier if it's adorning your hair. May I?"_

_She giggled like a girl and nodded. He tucked the flower just above her left ear. He then opened the bottle, poured the sparkling liquid and handed her a glass._

_"Shall we make a toast?" he asked. "To friendship and new experiences."_

_"Of course," she agreed._

_They clinked glasses together then sipped the wine. Queen Ariel seemed to be taken slightly aback. "That was… quite a little stronger than what I'm used to."_

_"That is natural for first timers," the Captain explained. "But give it time. Take another sip and this time let your senses fill you with it."_

_The Queen followed and drank again. She closed her eyes for a moment._

_He moved behind her and said in her ear: "Do you feel it—the warmth spreading inside you? Note the sweetness with just barely a touch of bitter and a little fire towards the end."_

_"Yes, yes I feel it," she said as she opened her eyes. "I can see it does have quite an appeal."_

_"I always think of it as the Southern Isles in a bottle—hot summer breezes, fresh green grass and ripening fruit from the trees."_

_"Southern Isles?" she asked. "I thought this was Arendellian wine. You said it came from your homeland?"_

_"I'm not a native of Arendelle. I was born in the Southern Isles."_

_She stared at him in surprise. "But you're a Captain in the Arendelle navy?"_

_"I didn't have much prospect in the Southern Isles so I left to seek my fortune elsewhere. I was granted citizenship in Arendelle and found a home there." He turned from her and stared out as if deep in thought. "But once in a while I do miss the land of my birth. My duty keeps me from returning so all I have to remember it is the taste of its wine. Do you feel that way sometimes Ariel? Perhaps a salty taste or the scent of the air that reminds you of home and it's the only thing you can hold onto?"_

_Queen Ariel's face registered a sudden sadness and she seemed to sniff the salty air. I realized she must be thinking of her home in the sea that she had shut herself away from. "Yes, I do know what you mean."_

_"But even though it clenches your heart," he faced her. "Would you trade your current home now for the one you left behind?"_

_She shook her head. "No. I love Eric and Melody. I would never dream of leaving them to go back."_

_"Yes, I can see that. You're fortunate to have a child. I was never so lucky. Your daughter is such a lovely girl," he paused and his expression changed to the familiar devilish grin which I recognized as the smoulder. "Just like her mother."_

_The queen colored as bright as her red hair. Her fingers unconsciously began tucking invisible strands behind her unadorned ear. She gulped the rest of the wine in her glass that Captain Westergard readily refilled._

_"Well I'm very proud of Melody. But she's so headstrong sometimes I don't know what to do with her." She sipped her wine again._

_"I think that's rather admirable in a little lady. But she should meet more children her age. I'm certain she'll find better ways to expel all that energy when she has more friends."_

_Queen Ariel looked uncomfortable and relieved it by taking another drink. "Well Melody doesn't get along much with children her own age. I think it's just an awkward phase. I'm sure she'll grow out of it."_

_"Perhaps," Captain Westergard said. "Or maybe she just needs the right kind of encouragement. I heard she has a birthday coming up in three days." He paused then continued as if a thought just occurred to him. "What if you hold a party for her where she can have an opportunity to meet other children?"_

_Queen Ariel pondered over it then her face lit up in a smile. "I think that's an excellent idea. We can invite some of the children in the village."_

_"That might be alright, but I think Melody needs to meet with children of the nobility. Why not invite some of the children from the neighboring kingdoms?"_

_A look of fear flashed on the Queen's face. "I-I'm not sure that's a good idea."_

_He looked seriously concerned. "What's wrong?"_

_"Well I..." she gave another gulp at her wine._

_"You can tell me Ariel," he said ever so gently it was like his words were a lover's caress._

_She hesitated for a minute but finally spoke. "I think you know by now I used to be a mermaid."_

_"Yes and I make no judgment."_

_"Thank you. You don't know how relieved I have to have someone who understands." She walked a bit away from him so he wouldn't see her half-embarrassed face. "You see, even if I have legs, there are just so many things that set me apart from those who were born human. There are just some human ways that are so different from the world I used to live in. Even though it's been years sometimes I still find myself making mistakes. The people in Tastris accept my occasional errors but other people outside... they're not so forgiving. They think me strange—especially the nobles. They can be downright mean. I don't want to humiliate Eric or my people. And I don't want Melody to go through the same because of me."_

_"I understand," he said sympathetically. "But Melody is a princess and one day will be queen. She needs to deal with the nobles at some point. A birthday party for her would be a gentle way of introducing her to society." He moved closer to her and used his thumb to lift her chin slightly so she was staring into his eyes. "You are a beautiful and graceful woman Ariel. Any man would be fortunate to have you beside him. People make mistakes all the time and you're not alone. It's but natural. But you are a queen so you shouldn't worry about what others say."_

_I could tell what he said affected her in the way her lips curved into a smile while her cheeks maintained its red hue. She pulled away, seemingly unable to meet his gaze too long. "I suppose you're right. I shouldn't deny Melody that opportunity and inviting children from the neighboring kingdoms can be arranged. Who would you suggest?"_

_Captain Westergard lit up in a way that made me think of a satisfied spider who just caught a fly into his web. "Well there's the young prince from Gormund. He's about Melody's age. Quite a dashing youth I heard. The king of Condor has three children a girl and two boys all under twelve. Be sure to invite their cousins as well from Antalona—there are about eight of them—quite a big brood. I'm sure Melody will get along with most of them. There's the duke of Madinova's sons and their younger half-sisters. And then there's Queen of Glowerhaven's son Crispin."_

_"You seem to know a lot about the families from the neighboring kingdoms," Queen Ariel pointed._

_"I've met with some of them in my travels as captain. I'm sure they would love to come and meet Melody."_

_"Well then it's settled. I'll have the party prepared and send out the invitations early tomorrow. You will come of course."_

_He smiled almost catlike. "I wouldn't miss it."_

_A thought seemed to occur to the Queen. "You must understand if I do not extend an invitation to…"_

_"Say no more Ariel, I assure you Queen Elsa will not be in attendance. And you won't be bothered by her. She has decided to return to the Alexandra for the rest of her stay here. And she has urgent matters to attend to that she must depart from Tastris in a few days."_

_Her relief was clear in her face. _

_"Well, it is rather late, Ariel. As much as I've enjoyed the company, I do not wish to impose on you too much as you will be busy with preparations for Melody's party tomorrow."_

_She looked rather disappointed but agreed. He gave a gallant bow then took his leave. The Queen remained in the garden looking slightly dazed with the half-empty bottle beside her. I suspect she might be a little drunk—whether it's from the wine or my smooth-talking commanding officer, I wasn't so sure. I left her to her thoughts and stealthily followed my Captain._

_I found him at the Alexandra where he was in conference with Queen Elsa._

_"Join us Aksel," Captain Westergard called out. "I was just telling her majesty of our plans to stay for a little longer for Melody's birthday party. She has some rather significant guests that I'm sure Queen Elsa will be very eager to meet."_

_I was confused. "I'm sorry Captain, I don't think I understand. How do the children attending Melody's birthday party be significant for us?"_

_"Not the children Aksel," Queen Elsa said. "But their accompanying guardians. Each one is an ambassador of their respective kingdoms."_

_"A lesson in politics for you Aksel," said the Captain. "Gormund, Condor, Antalona, Madinova and Glowerhaven. What do they have in common?"_

_I thought about it for a moment then suddenly it hit me. Condor, Madinova and Antalona are three nations currently looking the other way when pirates attack their merchant ships because they are afraid to openly defy Weselton and start a war they know they cannot win. Gormund was rumored to be next on Weselton's assault list after Arendelle. Glowerhaven is already under Weselton occupation but a rebellion from within was said to be growing daily._

_"They've all been in one way or another offended by Weselton," I replied. "And they would jump at a chance to get rid of the threat to their kingdoms."_

_"Precisely," Captain Westergard confirmed. "Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei."_

_I didn't know Latin but I've heard of the phrase before: "My friend, the enemy of my enemy."_

_Queen Elsa nodded in approval. "Quite right Aksel. And thanks to Captain Westergard's birthday party convincing skills, we won't need to leave Tastris to get in touch with our 'friends'. Melody's little birthday party will be an excellent cover for me to provide a proposal for an alliance."_

* * *

**Author's Note:** Oh Hans, you just get smoother with age. Although this is a redemption story, I figured over the course of writing this that I can never turn Hans into a saint or even a typical good-boy Disney prince. The most I can do is close to a reformed Flynn Rider—thus the smoulder. Or more accurately a combination of Tyrion and Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones.


	9. Chapter Nine: Two Queens

**Chapter Nine: Two Queens**

Captain Aksel paused in his story as we reached the river that cuts across the north mountain. As it was high summer, the river's waters flowed freely with a noisy little rumble.

"I hope you don't mind getting a little wet, your highness," said the young captain. "There's a shallow part about half a kilometer from here where our horses can pass."

"I do mind, Captain," I said. "Fortunately, we don't need to get wet or travel the extra distance." I stretched out my hand and froze part of the river, just enough for our horses to get across.

"Impressive, Prince Fredrik," the Captain praised as he urged his horse forward.

I followed him. Although part of the river was frozen the rest of it was still liquid so there were occasional puddles. I had a bit of difficulty getting across as my horse kept slipping. But finally both of us reached the other bank of the river with only bits of splatter on my boots.

"Not quite as impressive as the Queen though," I commented when we were back to trotting on solid ground. "If she was here, she could probably build a bridge over the river and we won't even have to worry about slippery ice. Too bad I can't create large solid objects yet."

"You're young yet Prince Fredrik," he replied. "You'll get there. I bet you'll be good at a lot of other things by the time you take the throne."

"I hope so. I mean Aunt Elsa is a good teacher. Though I'd like to learn things from Admiral Westergard too. He seems to know so much and his strategies are brilliant. How did he manage to set a meeting for the ambassadors from the other countries with the queen?"

Captain Aksel grinned knowingly like he was sharing a juicy secret. "That was easy enough. We just waited for them to arrive and slipped a note through one of their guards to meet with us if they are interested in getting rid of the Weselton threat. They had no idea the Arendellian fleet was even there though some of them knew Captain Westergard and had an idea what was going on. All five nations positively responded to the invitation. On the eve of the party I was assigned to lead one of the ambassadors to the Alexandra where Queen Elsa awaited. You'll never believe who I got to escort."

"Who?" I asked.

He leaned forward. "The queen of Glowerhaven herself."

I frowned. "Wasn't she the wife of the Duke of Weselton?"

"The same one. Queen Constanza is the only surviving member of the Glowerhaven nobility after her father and three brothers were killed in a battle against Weselton five years ago. She surrendered her nation shortly after that and married the brother of her conqueror."

"Isn't that a bit risky to be meeting with the wife of the enemy?"

"I thought so too and I was surprised Captain Westergard extended the invitation to her at all. But the Captain assured me that she was a vital ally we could trust. I found out why that night…"

_Queen Constanza was rumored to be a timid woman. She was married to the Duke of Weselton and was by reputation known as an obedient wife who did nothing to oppose the policies Weselton introduced into Glowerhaven no matter how deplorable they were. I expected to meet a delicate young girl that could only submit to her husband's wishes. Instead, what greeted me was a formidable lady that can be rivaled only by Queen Elsa herself. She appeared to be in her late 20s, slender with a firm jaw, tanned skin and dark eyes that seemed to have a dangerous fire burning within. Her hair was dark as midnight and cut so short that it was almost boyish. Despite her fierce features, she was easily one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen._

_I found her by the balcony away from most of the guests at the party. She readily followed me alone to the docks after our initial greeting. I was surprised that she would willingly come alone with a stranger. But during our silent walk to the docks I felt like I had more to fear from her that she was from me. She just gave the vibe that she could kill me if she wanted to._

_She was the first of our "guests" to arrive at the Alexandra as the others were still working on attempting to make a subtle exit from the party._

"_Well met, Queen Elsa of Arendelle," Queen Constanza said as soon as she boarded the ship and faced the woman that greeted her. _

"_You know who I am?" Queen Elsa said rather alarmed. I was surprised that the queen of Glowerhaven rather expected Queen Elsa's presence. We didn't exactly informed any of the ambassadors who they were meeting tonight._

"_I have my ways, your majesty," replied the dark-haired queen. "You don't become the leader of your people's rebellion movement without knowing a thing or two about what's going on in the region."_

_Leader of the rebellion? I've heard from some of the Glowerhaven refugees we've rescued that there was a powerful leader coordinating the guerilla attacks in Glowerhaven in an effort to free it from Weselton occupation. Their moves started with simple theft of food stocks and supplies. However, in recent years they've become bolder and bolder, conducting sabotage and even assassination attempts on key Weselton officials stationed in Glowerhaven. Just before the war broke out in Arendelle, there were rumors that the destruction of a minor shipyard in the heart of Weselton's own city was done by a Glowerhaven saboteur—an indication that the rebels had somehow reached beyond the borders of their nation. _

_I felt a sense of dread as I realized the person leading these attacks was standing before my Queen. I fingered the pistol on my side, ready to defend her for anything. If I suspected that this woman had the ability to kill before, I had no doubt now she was more than capable. _

_Queen Elsa continued to give an even expression though I felt a drop in temperature. If Queen Constanza noticed it, she gave no indication of it. Instead, she held out her palms in a gesture of non-violence. "I have not come here to hurt you, your majesty. And don't worry your fleet's position is safe with me. I've taken care not to let my husband know. I want to help you."_

_The air restored to its usual warmth. "I'm glad," Queen Elsa replied with obvious relief. "Captain Westergard vouched that you would support us." She led her guest to sit by a small table on the top deck. I moved about to serve refreshments and I couldn't help but overhear their conversation._

"_Your captain is a dear man," the Glowerhaven Queen said rather fondly. "He's been helping the refugees from my homeland find safe harbor in other countries for years. I'm grateful to him."_

"He helped refugees escape?" I interrupted.

Captain Aksel nodded with a grave expression as if he was remembering something horrible. "In the last five years since Glowerhaven became occupied territory, the atrocities to its citizens were terrible. There were forced labor camps, whole communities relocated to work at dangerous mines or huge project works without thought to their safety. Children as young as seven were being forced to work in factories or made to dive in the deep seas to obtain pearls. Young attractive girls were selected, taken from their families to become…" he stopped and shook his head unable to say more. I knew enough from my readings in history what happened to those poor girls.

"A lot of them try to escape by getting out of Glowerhaven only to fall victim to pirates who would sell them to slavers," Captain Aksel continued. "Captain Westergard could never turn down any of the refugees we encounter. Often we find them starving and desperate. We take them along and drop them off at kingdoms that would accept them. Arendelle is one of the few that shelters refugees."

I knew about that. Aunt Elsa established a policy for allowing safe haven for refugees in light of the growing slave trade in the region—mostly propagated by Weselton. She even granted citizenship to foreigners that have integrated successfully into Arendelle society and became useful in their chosen trade. I was struck by a sudden realization that this must have been what happened to Admiral Westergard.

"Captain, was Admiral Westergard among those that were sheltered by Arendelle? You did mention before he was granted citizenship here."

"Yes, he was. He had been a slave before and was rescued by one of our own ships. It's probably why he was ready to help any refugees when he can. He always kept extra rations in the Christina bought from his own pocket to make sure any stragglers he picked up would be fed. He knew how it felt to be destitute. He told me once it was something that can change a man and he wouldn't want anyone to experience it."

"Wait—he was a slave? I thought he was a pirate." I asked.

"He was both. He was a pirate before but his own crew betrayed him and sold him off to a slaver. He spent three months in captivity and was about to be brought to the Americas when then Captain Rochport's ship intercepted the vessel carrying him and took him back to Arendelle. He applied to the military and rose through the ranks."

What an amazing journey this man had been on. I was sure he had plenty of stories to tell and so much he could teach me. A thought occurred to me. "Do you think I can be assigned to the ship under him next year if I pass the military exams this fall?"

Captain Aksel suddenly went silent.

"Captain?" I asked.

"Well… er… I suppose you could," he began uncomfortably. "I mean they assign new recruits randomly per ship… "

"But if I asked, couldn't they make a consideration for me? I will rule one day and don't you think it's best that I get military training from the best?"

The Captain refused to meet my eyes and said nothing.

"Captain did I say something wrong?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, of course not. It's just that… well… you're Queen Elsa's nephew and her heir."

"I don't understand. What does that got to do with me being trained under Admiral Westergard?"

He bit his bottom lip and sighed heavily. "I can't… I can't say. I'm sorry, your highness, but it's not my place to tell you. You should ask Queen Elsa or Princess Anna."

That was strange. I remembered the previous tales I heard from Kai, Lady Anja and Captain Anbjorn and each of them hinted that Aunt Elsa had problems trusting the Admiral. Was it because he was a pirate? Was she afraid he would be a bad influence on me? But then why promote him as the head of her military if that was the case? My aunt was not the type to be prejudiced over people with a past so what was the concern with him?

As curious as I was, I could tell that Captain Aksel was struggling with the issue so I decided not to pry any further. I would be sure to ask Mother or Aunt Elsa when I get back.

"I'm sorry Captain if I made you uneasy. Forget I asked. Please do continue what happened with the queen of Glowerhaven."

The young captain looked glad to return to the story at hand…

_"I'm also grateful to you too Queen Elsa," the Glowerhaven queen said with a reverent expression. "A lot of my people would not have survived if you hadn't accepted them in Arendelle."_

"_We do what we can," replied Queen Elsa. "We could not have stood by and let others suffer if we could help."_

"_I appreciate it. I'd like to do the same for you. I don't have a navy to offer, but a lot of my people are scattered all across the region as refugees. We have ways to communicate. One word from me and they will do what they can to help you."_

_Queen Elsa took her hand. "It's more help than I could hope for. Thank you."_

"_No need to thank me," she said though she returned Queen Elsa's hand squeeze. "This benefits me as much as it does you. I have a four-year-old son. I won't rest until I see him as king of a free Glowerhaven. You're giving me the opportunity to do that a lot sooner."_

"_I still thank you," said Queen Elsa sincerely. "I'm glad I met you earlier than the others."_

"_I'm glad I came early," she said and this time a smile lit her face that was almost mischievous. "I didn't think I would be missed at all at the party. In fact I think Queen Ariel would rather have me out of her sight for the entire evening so I thought I'd do her a favor."_

"_Why?"_

_She gave a hearty laugh. "The same reason you're here and not out there socializing with the rest of their noble guests as befits your position."_

_Queen Elsa looked puzzled._

"_You're not the only woman romantically linked to Eric. After he broke his engagement with you, Grimsby briefly tried to get Eric married to me. We never really got along that well so I understand why he decided to leave. I would have said no to him if he hadn't run away so fast."_

_It was Queen Elsa's turn to laugh. "He ran away?"_

"_Took the first ship out of Glowerhaven and left poor Grimsby to deal with it. At least you got a note. I didn't even get one. That man has a serious problem dealing with confrontational situations."_

_They laughed together like they were old friends. I was fascinated by the duality of her personality. One minute she was a frightening leader of a vicious rebellion and the next she could gossip and laugh like a carefree teenage girl._

"_His wife found out just this morning that Eric was my previous suitor. I can sense the little mermaid is jealously paranoid about me being in the same room as her husband so I decided to remove myself at the first opportunity."_

_Queen Elsa gave a tiny little grin. "I think I know what you mean. I'm partly to blame for that. I did try to get into his good graces a few days ago. But she need not worry. I think deep down Eric loves her."_

_Queen Constanza shook her head. When she spoke her voice lost its mirth and she had an almost wistful look on her face. "Marrying for love. Can it really be worth it?" She stopped and seemed to hesitate for a moment." Can I ask you something as one queen to another?"_

_"Of course."_

_"Forgive me if the question is rather personal but I've never met another queen I can relate to. I do admire you for keeping your independence this long. But would you have married for love if it will put Arendelle at a disadvantage?"_

_Queen Elsa readily answered. "No. I've always known as queen that I cannot marry without thinking of the consequences on the nation I rule. I will not have my personal happiness paved by the detriment of my people. I think you know as well as I that marrying for love is an indulgence that neither of us can afford despite our different situations." She paused and stared at the younger queen intently. "But then we are not so different, are we?"_

_The Glowerhaven queen gave her a knowing smile. "No we are not so different at all." They seemed to have reached a silent understanding of mutual trust. _

_It left me pondering on how Queen Elsa was taking a road similar to Queen Constanza's—driven to sacrifices when it came to for the sake of her people. It was humbling to say the least. In a world where kings were held in high esteem over female rulers, here were two women without reliable husbands but were so much more capable to stand up against a powerful nation. It made me think of the irony that they were both rejected once by the same king who replaced them with a woman who was so engrossed in her own petty little fairy tale world she wasn't even aware of the consequences of her actions to her husband's kingdom._

_There was a whispered greeting from below and I looked down to see the other ambassadors from the other nations had arrived. I promptly informed the queens of the coming company. _

_"Well Queen Elsa," began Queen Constanza as she rose from her seat. "As the rest is here I look forward to hearing your proposal on how we can help you win this war. I might have some ideas of my own to contribute."_

"_It would be a great help to know that," Queen Elsa replied graciously before turning to her newly arrived guests._

_Four ambassadors from each of the other nations of potential allies alighted on the Alexandra. They were all astonished at the presence of Queen Elsa and looked half-frightened to be so near the famed mistress of ice and snow. But Queen Elsa quickly put them at ease with her graceful manner and the presence of Queen Constanza reassured them. They headed to the main dinning cabin that served as the Queen's conference room. I was assigned to guard duty outside the door so I had no opportunity to hear their conversation within._

_An hour later they emerged and they appeared to have settled the matter. All the ambassadors apparently agreed to an alliance and were willing to go along with our plan. Queen Elsa seemed to have impressed upon them so well that not only were they ready to offer support in terms of ships and men but they were proposing for deeper alliances on her hand in marriage to their sovereign princes. Queen Elsa in her usual calm grace replied that she would consider such formal proposals only after the war was won. They were just concluding the arrangements when Captain Westergard arrived. _

_"Captain, was the party not to your liking?" Queen Constanza asked, noting that it was rather early._

_"The party is over," he said while gasping for breath. He seemed to have run the distance from the castle. "The birthday girl had a rather embarrassing encounter with a crab in front of all her guests. She took a small boat and has run away to the ocean. I need all of you to keep out of sight for a while. King Eric is on his way for an audience with Queen Elsa."_


	10. Chapter Ten: The Final Battle

**Chapter Ten: The Final Battle**

"_Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected."  
__- Sun Tzu on "The Art of War"_

I reigned in my horse and turned to my companion. "Melody ran away to the sea? But I thought she was forbidden from going beyond the wall? No—wait let me guess—she found out she was half-mermaid, did she?"

"Quite right," replied Captain Aksel. "Apparently she's been stealing out into the sea for quite some time without anybody knowing. Somehow she found out her parents were lying to her. That and being humiliated at her own birthday party most likely pushed her to the edge."

I knew it. I sensed that poor princess was going to bolt from her confines the moment I heard her story. Why did adults think children were so dumb they wouldn't find out big secrets like that anyway? I would probably run away from home too if my parents had lied to me and kept me from using my powers. They were such a big part of me that I couldn't imagine a life suppressing them.

"What was King Eric doing seeking Queen Elsa at a time like that? Wasn't he supposed to be looking for his daughter?"

"He was, except he didn't have a ship to follow her as he had long ago decommissioned all his vessels. That little girl is pretty smart. She knew her parents couldn't follow her that quickly unless they had to row their way across the ocean or borrow a ship from us. King Eric came over to ask Queen Elsa for help to supply him a ship to conduct the search."

"So Queen Elsa lent him?" I asked.

"Yes she did. She had the Hanne, Lisbet and the Lovise at his disposal and instructed their crews to help in the search. She wasn't able to join since she left by land the following day with Admiral Westergard to head for the Southern Isles. Had they stayed a few days perhaps they could have treated with King Triton himself. But we had a war to win and they couldn't delay their travel plans any further to find a missing princess that might have taken weeks."

We had reached Oaken's Wandering Trading Post and Sauna and Captain Aksel had to stop his story again. We got off our horses and stared up at the frost-covered mountains in the distance.

"What now, your highness?" Captain Aksel inquired. He seemed worried. He probably realized he had no idea how to fetch the Marshmallow Brigade without venturing higher up the wolf-infested mountains.

"Not to worry. Aunt Elsa and I had long ago devised a way to call them here." I stood facing the mountains and held one open palm near my lips. I made a tiny ball of ice appear then whispered: "Marshmallows to Oaken's. Come down please." I blew on the ball and sent it flying up in the direction of my aunt's ice palace. I repeated it five times sending my little balls flying in various directions where I figured the Marshmallows could be.

"That should do it," I said. "The icy wind can carry my message. It's a neat little trick Aunt Elsa discovered over the years. Now all we need to do is wait. This might take a while. Let's get a warm drink at Oaken's."

Captain Aksel looked relieved for the break. We tied the horses and headed inside.

"Yoohoo!" Oaken called from behind his counter which was unusually filled with several items in green and purple with the Arendelle floral crest. "Came for my big Arendelle victory blowout? I have memorabilia pins, handkerchiefs, shirts, hats and little flags. Show your national unity for the victory party tonight."

I wandered over the counter and marveled how Oaken came out with this stock so fast when the fleet came back only a few hours ago.

"Have you been preparing for an Arendelle victory all this time?" I told him.

"Yah, I have. I always knew Queen Elsa will win. So the supplies are always here, just waiting for the demand. Which is now. And if you wait for another day I can get you silhouette images of Queen Elsa and Admiral Westergard."

He was a businessman in the truest sense but his confidence in my aunt was heartening. "I think just a couple of drinks for now," I said. I picked up a colored flag and an idea came to my head. "But I'll take your entire stock of these flags and a dozen hats and maybe a couple of shirts. Do you have it in extra small?" I thought my little sisters Andrea and Elise would love these.

"I have them in all sizes," he said with a pleased grin as he took out two that were just the right size.

"Those are perfect," I said. "I'll take them both."

"Good, good," he seemed very happy. I must have been the best customer he received today. "For buying so much and in bulk, I'll give you a free trip to Oaken's sauna. Good deal, yah?"

I turned to Captain Aksel who looked like he could use the treat. "I think we could spare the time."

"I'll have them wrapped for you by the time you're done." Oaken said before leading us to the sauna. We quickly stripped down to enjoy the warm water.

"Did you join the search parties for Melody?" I asked once we were settled into the tubs with mugs of hot cocoa that Oaken sent.

"No, unfortunately, I stayed behind to supervise repairs for our other ships. I missed out on quite an adventure and only got to hear of it from the other sailors. Queen Ariel was turned back into a mermaid by her father and searched for her daughter under the sea while the Lovise was captained by King Eric who led the search party above the waves. They battled with a fearsome seawitch that tricked Melody into stealing King Triton's trident in exchange for her temporarily becoming a mermaid. The seawitch gained the upper hand at some point and actually sank the Lovise. In the end, little Melody was the one who saved the day by stealing back the trident and handing it over to her grandfather. When the witch was dispatched, Melody was given the power by King Triton to break the wall that enclosed their kingdom from the sea. A celebration ensued for days and I actually witnessed mermaids swim up on the shoreline of Tastris."

"Were the mermaids as magical as they say in the mythology books?" I asked as I dropped a few marshmallows in my drink. "Did they really bewitch men and make them kill themselves?"

Captain Aksel laughed as he swirled his mug around. "Not at all. They were just like ordinary people—but with fish tails in various colors. In fact some of them were quite friendly. They seemed a lot more cheerful than the average human. I think they were simply a fun-loving race and loved to dance and sing. There was much music and swim-dancing in the days after the wall came down."

I tried to imagine what the mer-people looked like and their life under the sea. Exploring it would be a nice thing to experience for once. What kind of cultural differences would they have with us? How do they live? What do they eat? I decided when the opportunity comes I would try to come to Tastris and see for myself. Maybe I could even get to talk to Melody and ask her stories about her adventures. From what I've heard so far, she's the only member of the Tastris royal family I truly liked.

"It was rather unfortunate we couldn't celebrate as well with the rest of Tastris," Captain Aksel went on. "The loss of the Lovise was a big blow to us and Captain Gulbrand was simply livid. However, a few days later King Eric finally realized what damage that wrought to us and had pieces of the ship collected. I think he asked King Triton for help in fishing parts of the ship out and had it restored. Over the course of the month we stayed in Tastris, King Eric came over to the docks on a daily basis to help supervise the repairs of our ships. He reopened his port to help speed up the process of bringing in supplies from Gormund, his trading partner for wood. He even offered to pay for the lumber with seaweed and pearls—an industry he resumed among his people though the ban on fishing remained."

"Well it's a start," I said. I knew from my lessons in economics that pearls and seaweed were rather valuable tradable goods and could help open the doors of Tastris with other nations.

"I had to admit eventually we all grew fond of King Eric. He was an experienced sailor and a capable captain. Even though his wife's family still refused to be involved in the war, he personally became a good ally and supported us when it mattered in the last battle with Weselton."

"He joined you?" I gasped in disbelief. I didn't expect that at all.

"He did. Maybe it was out of gratitude for us loaning him ships when he needed it, or maybe Queen Elsa convinced him that last night she was in Tastris when he borrowed our ships. I wasn't sure. But when we were ready to set sail for Antalona—our agreed upon stop to meet with our allies prior to battle—he volunteered with over a hundred men to help us fight. Captain Anbjorn was taking too long to recover so he took over command of the Kjerstin. A good thing he did too because he helped solidify diplomatic relations with the rest of our allies…"

_Two days out of Tastris, we stopped by the coast of Antalona where we were received by Duke Eivind, who contributed 18 ships to the alliance. Within hours, our other allies began arriving. _

_The Malin which set off earlier successfully met the Coronan fleet and brought back with them 22 ships headed by Prince Eugene Fitzherbert, consort to Queen Rapunzel. He had a reputation as thief before and the other dignitaries, particularly Prince Karl of Gormund and even King Eric was slightly wary of him. However, he turned out to a charming man of 45 years, with slim built and dark hair peppered with bits of grey who easily won over our party with his easy-going manner. He was the life of the party in every room he entered with his unending one-liners. He turned out to be the creator of the "smoulder." However, Captain Westergard was right when he remarked that Prince Eugene's version could use some work. (He tried it on Queen Constanza when they were introduced and she asked him if he needed a purgative)._

_The other dignitaries that came with ships included the rather somber Count de Cheny of Condor and the dignified Admiral Thilburg of Madinova. _

_All in all our forces now totaled 73 ships. It was still small compared to the Weselton force which we estimated to be over a hundred. But as Captain Westergard pointed out before, a smaller force can be enough to defeat them when we had the advantage of strategy on our side. _

_However, I think equally valuable was what Glowerhaven brought into the alliance. Over the course of the month prior to battle their network of refugees provided us with access to regular reports on the region. We were assured that the ice wall in Arendelle still held, that Weselton was still unable to discern where we were and that the Southern Isles maintained its neutrality and even formalized it by signing a non-aggression agreement with Weselton. The last one was a rather clever move by King Sigurd of the Southern Isles to ensure they would not be attacked by Weselton in exchange for their commitment not to support either side of the war. It wasn't exactly something favorable to us but at least it was better than the Southern Isles supporting Weselton and beefing up their already large navy. And should Queen Elsa and Captain Westergard be caught while traveling, the Southern Isles was still at least neutral ground and had no obligation to turn them over to Weselton._

_The last piece of news we heard from Queen Elsa was that she, the Captain and her two other escorts made it safely on the eastern-most coast of the Southern Isles. That was two weeks ago and there had been no more reports on them since. That was what started the bit of conflict in Antalona._

"_They could have been captured or maybe even dead," Prince Karl of Gormund, a rather arrogant man said harshly when the council began. "We may be walking into a trap."_

"_Are you suggesting we not pursue this plan at all?" our own Captain Gulbrand asked. _

"_I'm saying we shouldn't just risk our lives and our ships for a queen that may not fulfill her part of the bargain," Count de Cheny remarked. "I'm with Gormund on this." The leaders of Madinova and Antalona muttered equal assents._

"_Wait one moment," Prince Eugene stood. "Queen Elsa promised to be there and she will."_

"_Is that your thief's instincts telling you that?" Prince Karl mocked. "I'm not buying it. We don't really know her. How would you know she wouldn't balk at the last minute?"_

_Prince Eugene didn't rise to the bait but instead focused on the issue at hand. "I know her. I've met her."_

"_Yes on her coronation, sixteen years ago. We all did," said Admiral Thilburg. "And I seem to remember her running away scared after she trapped all of us for days in her frozen world."_

"_She's gained control of them since then," King Eric spoke firmly. "I've seen it. And I've known her far longer than anyone of you. She has never broken a promise in her life and I will guarantee she will move mountains to fulfill her part in this plan." He stared defiantly at each person in the room. "I trust my life and those of my men in her because I know what she is capable of. If you want to leave right now, that is your prerogative. But you won't get another chance at this to get rid of Weselton which we all have a stake. And I can guarantee if you do, you will lose the two most valuable allies you will ever have."_

_His meaning was clear. Everyone by now knew he was married to the daughter of the king of the sea—a most coveted ally in the region. In fact, after the wall in Tastris came down, King Eric began receiving a deluge of marriage proposals for Melody's hand. I knew for a fact that the Prince of Gormund's own 13-year-old son was trying to woo the little girl back even after the rather embarrassing incident he had involving the crab and the punch bowl at her birthday party._

_The Gormund prince hesitated but relented to King Eric's hard gaze. "Alright, I remain."_

_He seemed to have quite an influence on the other nations. For when he assented, they all readily followed suit. We proceeded with discussing our plans of attack that ended late that night._

_The following morning I woke up to wonderful news from one of Queen Constanza's aides. An ice wall had appeared on the coast of Weselton and their ships had all been recalled to defend their nation. I was assured at least that the Queen had made it alive near Weselton to build the wall, the rest of her companions I could only hope survived the journey._

_We prepared for the battle and set sail that very afternoon, armed with our attack strategies. In less than two days we arrived at our target. _

_The Christina was among the five small ships to lead the attack. Our goal was to draw the enemy out to the open sea and make them converge before our larger fleet assaulted them. We approached the northern coast of Weselton an hour before dawn. We shut off all lamps so as not to give our position away. The morning sun would announce our arrival soon enough. _

_I stood up on the top deck and stared at the inky darkness of night. I knew that somewhere beyond what my vision could see were Queen Elsa and hopefully Captain Westergard and her two escorts waiting for us to appear on the horizon. _

_My men had all gathered in prayer on the top deck and I joined them briefly as was tradition. I prayed hard that this day would give us victory. After that I gave my men my final message. I wasn't as eloquent as Captain Westergard. In fact I spent the better part of the evening writing and rehearsing my speech and it still didn't sound as good one of his that he can craft on the spot. But it was heartfelt and still appreciated by the men._

_As the sun rose a terrifying sight greeted us. The Weselton armada was gathered near the coast like a swarm of bees protecting their hive. There must be over a hundred ships out there that we could barely see the wall of ice that loomed behind them. There were sounds of cannon fire in the distance and I knew they were attempting to break the Queen's wall. But from what I can see past the mass of sails, the gigantic structure held._

_The Lovise gave the signal and as one we all moved forward. _

_Time to play bait, I thought._

_We were five little ships pushing forward towards the vipers nest with the sun behind us and the wind on our tails. The Weselton fleet must think we were on a suicide mission. What can five ships do against a host more than a hundred? For a moment they seemed to do nothing. They were probably laughing their heads off at us. But we kept on moving at top speed. _

_Finally when we were about to get into range they moved. I turned to see that our second contingent had appeared behind us. Eight Arendellian ships came barreling forward. At the center was the Alexandra flying the proud banners of Arendelle making the enemy aware that it was Queen Elsa's flagship. I could see a figure of a woman standing on the top deck. From this distance, Lady Anja in a blonde wig and a white flowing gown could be a doppelganger for the Queen. She was waving her hands in the air the way Queen Elsa did when she constructs her ice. I couldn't help but smile a little at Lady Anja's acting skills._

_At the same time I felt a chill in the air. I breathed it deeply, savoring the cold like it was my sweetheart's warm touch. I knew somewhere the real Queen Elsa was out there doing her part in this deception._

_The ruse appeared to work as all the Weselton ships moved to form an attack stance. They began moving to meet us but we were ready. The Lovise gave the signal and we halted. We turned and retreated at top speed while the Weselton ships gave chase. _

_"That's it," I whispered to myself as I imagined myself taunting the Weselton commander. "Come on get us. It's the Queen you want, isn't it? If you get her that wall will be gone. Come on get her, get her flagship."_

_We were now in the race for our lives. Blood pounded in my veins as the Weselton ships began to close in on our rear. Cannon fire sounded and I knew some of them were already in range. As we were in retreat there was no way to return fire._

_"Come on, come on, just a little bit further," I begged as we kept on._

_A boom sounded near our starboard side and I knew they were too close. "Now's the time to appear King Eric," I whispered in the air._

_Another cannon boomed and this time it missed the edge of the Christina's port side by inches and shook my tiny ship. "I mean it," I said in annoyance. "Stop being a king for one moment and get your captain's hat on. We really need you."_

_A third cannon fired. But this time it wasn't aimed at us. I followed the direction of the sound and saw that it hit the Weselton ship that was closing in on us. I turned around and saw the Kjerstin with its cannons blazing. Beside it was the contingent from Gormund and Corona. From the east the combined Madinovan, Antalonan and Condor ships were forcing the Weselton fleet to move closer just as Captain Westergard planned. _

_We came beside our allies and I ordered my ship to turn. I've had enough of being prey. It was time to join the pack on the offensive. _

_At a signal from the Alexandra our ships closed in. When we came into range of the cluster of Weselton ships, I shouted the command I've been longing to give since Captain Westergard handed me command of the Christina:_

"_Fire at will!"_

_The ensuing battle was exhilarating. I felt the blood lust grow in me as we gave them chase—straight into the icebergs that were waiting for them near their own coast. What happened next was something of a blur. The cries of men and crunching wood were lost to me as we pummeled canon after cannon until we've nearly obliterated the once mighty Weselton fleet._

_A small group of Weselton ships managed to escape from our trap. I saw one of the ships was flying the royal banner of Weselton and knew immediately it carried the head of their navy, most likely one of the king's sons. They made a run for the Southern Isles. The Alexandra signaled to me and seven other ships to chase them while we left our allies to pick off the bulk of the Weselton armada._

_We followed the escaping Weselton ships for about an hour, confident that we can take them down. As we approached the coast of the Southern Isles, a warm gust of wind blew and I felt an instinctive feeling of dread drop down my stomach. _

_Then I saw it: more than fifty massive ships with sails unfurled in the wind all bearing the banners of a golden leaf over a white field. _

_It was the fleet of the Southern Isles all set in a position to fight._

_I signaled to stop and my co-captains did the same. For what seemed like an eternity we remained motionless wondering what the Southern Isles would do. They did sign a non-aggression neutrality pact so they weren't supposed to be involved in this war. So why was their fleet out and ready for battle? _

_It can only mean they have decided to rescind their own agreement and they were now supporting either one side or the other. _

_But which one: Arendelle or Weselton? _

_With such huge numbers, if they sided with us it meant our sure victory. Side with Weselton and our allies could still have a chance but we would not survive to find out._

_And then they opened fire._

* * *

**Author's Note: **I couldn't resist having Oaken here. He's just too good a personality to pass up and I can see him taking advantage of the victory celebrations to push for his products and make a good profit. He is kind of like my poster guy for the Disney marketing machine that launches a deluge of consumer products from all of its hit characters.

I know I've been taking potshots of Prince Eric for quite some time in this story so I decided to finally redeem him in this chapter. I really do see him as a very capable sailor. At least compared to some of the earlier Disney princes he does appear to have some useful marketable skills instead of just looking charming in forests, wishing wells and ballrooms.

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, Constanza was mentioned in one line in the Little Mermaid as the "Princess of Glowerhaven" that Eric said he didn't fall for her. I just gave her a name and a kick-ass personality.

I wrestled with having Flynn Rider here because I thought it was unlikely he would be in a sea battle as he wasn't militarily trained. But I suppose after around 19 or so years of being involved in the royal family of Corona he could have gotten that training. However, I see him as someone that other nobles from other nations are not willing to accept because of his past though I think he and Hans could get along really well. I computed his age based on the Disney wiki information that he was 26 at the time of the events in Tangled—three years before Elsa was crowned.

And finally the Southern Isles—they're the dark horse. Just stay tuned to find out who they actually supported.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Allies and Enemies

**Chapter 11: Allies and Enemies**

"_In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them." _

― Sun Tzu on "_The Art of War__"_

"And then they opened fire."

"On us?!" I almost screamed and splashed the water from my tub. Captain Aksel told his story so well that I could almost see the image of the Southern Isles fleet in front of me firing at our ships.

"No, not at us, Prince Fredrik," Captain Aksel assured. "The first shot they sent out impacted directly into the main mast of the Weselton flagship, causing it to collapse with a deafening roar. We were close enough to one of the ships to see the astonished expressions of the men onboard that mirrored our own. Before we could do anything the Southern Isles fleet went on firing on the rest of the Weselton ships. They didn't stop at merely crippling the ships. They destroyed them so completely not a single survivor was left."

He shook his head as if he was still seeing the grisly image in his mind. "I've been trained to fight. I've seen men get killed—some even from my own hand. But I've never seen such complete disregard for life as I have seen that day. I keep telling myself they were the enemy, but when it came down to seeing a lifeless corpse floating in the waves next to useless debris, I can't help but imagine that could have been me—just another soldier fighting for my country."

He turned his face away and poured water on his head to hide the tears that were threatening to fall from his lids. I let silence fall between us. I couldn't find any words of comfort for him.

"Forgive me, Prince Fredrik, I'm just being sentimental," said Captain Aksel when he recovered.

"Not at all," I replied gravely. "How come the Southern Isles didn't honor their neutral agreement with Weselton?"

"They most likely realized who the winning side was. King Sigurd has always been known to play it safe. His kingdom didn't exactly reach its position of influence by committing itself to lost causes. We were just grateful he chose to side with us that day or things could have turned out differently."

_Politics,_ I thought. It was the deadliest game in the world. How many people lost their lives every day for these powerplays? The fate of nations sometimes changed with the decision of one man. I've always read about them in my lessons. Reading Sun Tzu or Machiavelli's cold advises though sounded so differently when applied to real life.

"When it was over," Captain Aksel continued. "The head of the Southern Isles fleet hailed us. Their leader Prince Heinrik, younger brother to King Sigurd greeted us warmly as if our nations have always been allies. He was a tall distinguished-looking man with red hair flaked with gray. I estimated he was in his late forties and looked almost like a kind father with the silver spectacles he wore. He wasn't at all somebody I expected that would order the full wipe out of those ships. But after seeing the destruction he caused, I felt a bit wary of him. However, he assured me and our other captains he was on our side. He told us he met with Queen Elsa and gave her party the means to get to Weselton and accomplish her mission."

"So Queen Elsa met him. Maybe she got the Southern Isles' king to change his mind and support us."

Captain Aksel didn't respond and I repeated my statement.

"I suppose maybe she did," he said rather uneasily. "Anyway, the Southern Isles fleet escorted us back to the Weselton coast. There, I witnessed destruction so horrendous I almost felt pity for our enemy…"

_The wall of ice was still standing but on both sides of it was fire and smoke. On the coast, the remains of the Weselton fleet were nothing more than burning shards of wood, torn sails and corpses. Beyond the wall, there was smoke billowing everywhere. I learned later that the Glowerhaven citizens that were forcibly taken to Weselton over the years to become laborers conducted a coordinated series of attacks within the city while we battled outside of it. They set off explosives to the main storehouses, dams, armament factories and garrisons. They also burned the crops in the fields which eliminated all sources of food that could sustain the populace in a siege. _

_We found the Arendelle and the Coronan ships rounding up the few survivors from the Weselton armada and assigning them into secure holds. For the next few hours we assisted them._

_Some of the sailors assigned to the Kjerstin later told me that when we left to chase the last remaining Weselton ships, an argument broke out among our ranks. Prince Karl of Gormund wanted no prisoners at all and went on firing at fallen Weselton sailors desperately swimming in the water even though they could no longer do any harm. King Eric and Prince Eugene had to stop him rather bodily from harming anymore injured Weseltonians. A rather tense moment ensued among the royal leaders until King Eric pointed out that prisoners could be made into valuable hostages which we can use for leverage. Although he was right, I felt the King of Tastris only said that to save lives even if they were our enemies. I would have done the same to prevent another slaughter similar to what the Southern Isles fleet had done to the escaping Weselton ships._

_It was almost sunset when I joined the council held on board the Alexandra. There, I saw Queen Elsa, Captain Westergard and their two escorts. They looked slightly sunburned but otherwise no worse for wear. We didn't have time for a reunion for we were soon joined by the leaders of our allies. _

_"A toast to our victory," Admiral Thilburg of Madinova began the council with a raised a glass. He turned to Queen Elsa. "So your majesty, will you be releasing the ice storm now on Weselton?" _

_Queen Elsa hesitated and shook her head. "I don't think that will be necessary. Weselton's food and water stores are now destroyed along with their garrisons and there is chaos within the walls."_

_Duke Eivind of Antalona nodded. "I think her majesty is right. There's no need for an ice storm. Queen Elsa can simply remove the wall and we can take the city right now."_

_"Hear, hear," agreed Admiral Thilburg and the representatives from Gormund and Condor._

_Queen Elsa looked shocked. "No, that's not what I mean at all!"_

_I understood her fear. If the wall came down and we attacked with our men still in the spirits they were in, most likely Weselton would be sacked. History has shown what happens to cities stormed by their conquerors. Troy, Gaul, Rome, Constantinople—each one told a story of mass murders, plunders, rapes and tortures when they fell. Seeing the results of the destruction of the Weselton fleet was bad enough, starving a population through an ice storm was worse, but the total annihilation of a country through the sheer brutality to its civilians was not something I think I can do even when ordered to._

"_And what exactly do you mean your majesty?" Condor's Count de Cheny challenged. "Do you mean for us to do nothing?"_

_"Yes," King Eric replied for her. "They are no threat to us anymore. There's no need to make them suffer further. Allow them to surrender on their own."_

_"What if they won't?" mocked the Prince Karl of Gormund. "Are we simply going to stand here and wait?" He faced Queen Elsa and pointed a finger at her. "You made a deal with us that you were going to see this through. I'm not going to stand here and throw this opportunity away because you felt queasy about taking a city that is rightfully ours!"_

_There was a chorus of agreements from the Condor, Antalona, and Madinova contingents. In seconds the air was filled with angry voices from the various nations that have long held their tongue against the abuses of Weselton. Even some of the Queen Constanza's supporters joined in._

_"Yes, let's take the city now!"_

_"Kill all the filthy fat Weseltonians!" _

_"Burn them all to the ground!"_

"_Make them all pay!"_

_"Leave no one alive!"_

"_No, keep them alive and let them suffer as we suffered!"_

_"No!" a sharp voice rose through the madness. It was Queen Constanza who spoke and her eyes blazed. "Some of those people behind that wall are mine. They have sacrificed more than any of you to win this. Sack the city and they will die too. I'm not going to let you do that!"_

_"You're soft!" Prince Karl replied nastily. "This is what we get from allying with queens."_

_"Well this queen if you remember is trying to keep its people alive!" Queen Constanza shot back._

_The argument went on and it seemed that the alliance was going to break down. The leaders from Madinova, Condor, Gormund and Antalona were all for sacking the city and dividing the spoils. Queen Constanza was for restraint but she wanted recompense for the abuses done to her country. Some of her people though wanted an eye-for-eye retribution and were among the ones calling for torture of the Weseltonians. King Eric, Prince Eugene and Queen Elsa were together in asking for surrender without bloodshed. Prince Heinrik of the Southern Isles was the only one that kept silent. He seemed content to observe yet made no committed statement to any party. As the tension mounted, I noticed him share a look with Captain Westergard. My commanding officer bit his lower lip uncomfortably then whispered something to Queen Elsa. For a moment, she appeared to fight an internal struggle. But her face firmed to resolve when she met her captain's pleading gaze._

_"Twenty-four hours!" Queen Elsa's clear voice cut above the clashing leaders and her next words were like cold steel. "Send a message through the wall to Weselton that if they don't surrender in twenty-four hours I will unleash an ice storm so strong what's left of their country will be buried in snows higher than that wall holding them captive."_

_She eyed each of the heads of her allies. "When they surrender, all Weselton citizens will be treated with mercy and dignity. No man, woman, child or animal will be harmed. You will restrain yourselves and your men from destruction or stealing of any property."_

_"But their leaders, the king..." protested Duke Eivind._

_"Will be treated with the same mercy and will be made to stand trial for the atrocities committed to Glowerhaven and plunders to the various nations in the region," Queen Elsa said sharply. "Those are my conditions. Violate them and this alliance is over!"_

_A tense silence stretched on. I was afraid someone would oppose and would lead to open aggression._

_"Gentlemen, let's look at this rationally," came the familiar smooth voice of Captain Westergard. "What use is a sacked city to any of us? Are we doing it to appease our hurt pride? Vengeance, maybe? Yes, I suppose those are valid reasons. But think of this: Weselton is one of the riches cities in this region—most of them accumulated from plunder from our own nations. If we go in there like a disorganized horde brazenly killing and looting, we might be destroying some valuable property. Property that could be collected, accounted for and returned to their proper owners or at least compensate us for damages." He looked at Queen Constanza. "And even help rebuild nations. So what say you?" _

_The room again fell to silence until finally the Prince of Gormund spoke. "Very well Queen Elsa we'll go with your conditions." The other representatives all readily agreed. _

_"Good," Queen Elsa said firmly. "I'll have my people send the ultimatum. The rest of you cool your heads and allow your men to rest. Tomorrow, we will enter the city peaceably or watch it freeze."_

_She swept out of the room with head held high and Captain Westergard followed her. The council dispersed soon after. _

_I headed down below deck to the Queen's quarters to ask permission to volunteer to send the ultimatum. Her door was slightly ajar and I was about to knock when I heard the sounds of soft sobbing within. Curiously, I peered in and saw the Queen leaning by her desk with her back to me. Even though I couldn't see her face I knew she was the one crying as her body shook and she had her hands on her face. _

_"I don't want to do this, Hans! I know I said I will, but I don't want to!"_

_I saw Captain Westergard place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You need to Elsa. We just prevented them from sacking the city. It could have been worse if they did that. You know what's at stake here. They can turn on us if we don't do this. And we both know who my brother will support when they do that. We can't afford to lose this."_

"_I know that," she cried. She turned to face him and for the first time I could see the formal mask of the Queen was completely gone. She was just an ordinary woman burdened with an extraordinary decision to kill to end a war that could cost more lives if it went on._

_He looked like he was about to brush her tears away with his hand but he stopped himself. "I'm just glad those bastards worry more about their greed over their lust for revenge. All we can do is hope Weselton surrenders tomorrow. Let me deliver the message. I'll frighten them enough with the threat of your ice storm so they'll surrender."_

_"Yes, please Hans. Make them surrender." She turned away from him fell weeping to her knees. "Oh please God, let them surrender…"_

_The anguish in her voice was so heartbreaking I couldn't stand to watch her further. I left them and returned to my ship. _

_Captain Westergard arrived back at the Christina late in the evening from his mission. He commended all the men for their participation in the battle but otherwise had little more to say. I wanted to ask him about his journey with the Queen and how Weselton responded to the threat but he didn't seem to be in the mood so I let him brood on his own. _

_The following day I went about doing normal ship maintenance as I tried not to think of what would happen by sunset. By noon however, word among the ships spread of Weselton's unconditional surrender._

_We set off for the coast and the wall of ice disintegrated when we landed on the beach. I was among the first parties to reach the city with Queen Elsa. The city was mostly intact save for some buildings that were scorched through explosives and damaged with water when their main dam collapsed. Yet it was the people who appeared to be truly broken. _

_They huddled together in small groups, wide-eyed with fear and dejected with the loss of their navy. They came begging for mercy as the Queen passed. They expected her to take revenge that they were astonished she stayed her hand and spoke to them in a calm tone that they would not be harmed._

_Our allies kept their word and cooperated in securing the city without raising a hand on anyone. I kept on the alert just in case. I knew the men from Arendelle, Corona, and Tastris did the same. _

_The palace of the king of Weselton stood on top of the highest hill overlooking the city. We reached it by foot in two hours. It was the largest, grandest palace I've ever seen. The palace was made of solid white marble surrounded by incredibly vast gardens. Ripening fruits and blooming flowers hung upon well-trimmed trees and plants while fountains tinkled serenely. All around were statues of the Greek gods and goddesses in graceful forms and exotic birds in cages that sang somber melodies as we passed. Inside, it was even more lavish with its high domed ceiling, walls lined with magnificent paintings from famous masters, ornate furniture, and rows upon rows of display cases bearing antique vases, ancient weapons, and rare books. _

_And yet even with these treasures laid bare not one person opposed our entry. The entire palace was silent as a tomb. _

_Where's the king?" Admiral Thilburg asked. "His family and his staff?"_

"_They must have escaped," surmised Prince Karl. "Search for them. They might still be around."_

_"No, wait!" Queen Elsa said. She paused at an enormous pair of closed doors which I guessed probably led to the throne room._

_"Your majesty," Captain Westergard warned. He gestured that she let him go first. _

_She did not heed him but entered the door._

_And gave a blood-curling scream._

_"Elsa!" Captain Westergard cried as he ran in after her. _

_I followed him and saw what made her react like that._

_Beyond the doors was indeed a majestic throne room bigger than Arendelle's own and filled with riches as grand as the rest of the palace. But what struck me were the bodies lying on the floor with empty cups near each one. From their clothes I discerned some as servants and guards, but others looked like they were noblemen with positions of high rank or even members of the royal family._

_At the end of the room just below the dais that held a magnificent throne of gold knelt a grey haired man with a jeweled crown on his head. Beside him lay the lifeless bodies of a woman and two small boys. He clutched at the woman's hand while he lovingly caressed the children's hair. I immediately knew they were his wife and young sons. _

_An empty goblet fell noisily on the floor near him. I realized the man had drunk from it moments ago and it must have fallen from the dais where he hurriedly placed it. _

_It suddenly became clear to me what happened here. He was the last person to take the same poison that already killed his entire family and court in a pointless mass suicide._

_He was still gasping for breath as Queen Elsa came over to him._

_"Why?" she asked with tears in her eyes. "I would have shown you and your people mercy."_

_He stared at her defiantly with such hate in his eyes. "I can go to hell on my own without your help witch! You and that cursed captain of yours—the spawn of the Southern Isles. They're all the same. One day he will betray you like his brother betrayed me. On that day, I will get my vengeance." _

_He breathed his last and became still. The room grew cold and I couldn't be sure if it was due to the Queen or the warmth of life leaving the body of the fallen king._

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__The Southern Isles is my Frozen version of the Tyrells from GOT. They gain power through cunning and playing it safe. I thought it would an apt family value for the Westergards that can explain why Hans tried to marry into the Arendelle throne. _


End file.
